The worst of times continued for the Mets, with this 1-11 start out of the All-Star break marking their worst such stretch in franchise history. They've now lost 12 of 13 overall.

Here’s a recap of the latest downward turn, a sweep by the Nationals that closed the team’s first winless homestand of six or more games since 2002.

Putting a Positive Spin on It
Jordany Valdespin broke the Mets record for pinch-hit home runs in a season.

His 5 pinch-hit homers are two shy of the major-league record of seven, set by Dave Hansen for the 2000 Dodgers and matched by Craig Wilson for the 2001 Pirates.

Valdespin is well short of the Mets mark for pinch-hit RBI in a season. Rusty Staub set that (and tied the major league mark held by Joe Cronin and Jerry Lynch with 25 in 1983.)

Extra, Extra, Read All About It
Monday’s bizarre extra-inning loss had a few notable aspects to it.

Elias noted that the Mets became the third team since 1900 to lose consecutive games, each in extra innings, each by at least five runs. They joined the 1973 Astros and 1994 Angels.

This is the third time in Mets history that they’ve had two extra-inning losses by at least five in the same season. This also happened in 1980 and 1985. The only team since 1901 with three such losses is the 2002 Royals.

It marked the seventh time that the Mets lost consecutive extra-inning home games, the first since 2009. The other instances were in 1976 (twice), 1979, 1980, and the World Series-winning season of 1986.

Bryce Not Nice to Mets
With three RBI in Monday’s game, Bryce Harper became the second teenager with a pair of multi-RBI games against the Mets.

The other was future Met great Rusty Staub for the 1963 Astros (then known as the Colt .45’s).

Harper tied the “record” for most RBI in a game by a teenager against the Mets with three. That mark is shared with one-game wonder John Paciorek (1963 Colt 45’s) and Cesar Cedeno (1970 Astros).

Later in the series Harper would strike out three times against R.A. Dickey. He’s Dickey’s most frequent strikeout victim this season, with six whiffs.

Harper is hitting .238 (10-for-42) against the Mets this season He is 0-for-10 against Dickey, with his 27 swings resulting in 19 foul balls, five swings and misses, and three balls put into play.

He’s only hit the ball to the outfield once against Dickey and that was a harmless flyout.

Murphy chasing a .400 month
Daniel Murphy went 1-for-7 in the final two games of the series, dropping his batting average for the month to .415.

Only two Mets have hit .400 in a July in which they had 50 plate appearances- Mackey Sasser in 1990 and Paul Lo Duca in 2006. The last Met to hit .400 or better in a calendar month from April to September is David Wright in June, 2010.

Minor League Metric of the Week
Zack Wheeler and the Binghamton Mets had a rough go on Wednesday, losing to the New Britain Rock Cats, 11-2. In that game, Rock Cats prospect Aaron Hicks outhit the B-Mets, 5-4.

For those wondering how often the parent club has had such a thing happen (allowed a five-hit game and managed fewer than five hits themselves), the parent Mets have been victim to that three times in the last 15 seasons.

The most recent instance was on June 26, 2009, by Yankees outfielder Brett Gardner, who outhit the Mets, 5-3.