Matt Harvey struck out 10 and limited the Washington Nationals to one run after Robert Carson bailed him out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the sixth. But Harvey suffered a hard-luck defeat in his second-to-last start of 2012 as the Mets lost to the Nats, 2-0, Wednesday night.

The Mets were swept in a six-game homestand for the second time in the second half and are now 4-21 at Citi Field since the All-Star break.

They have a day off before opening a weekend series in Milwaukee. Jon Niese (10-9, 3.47 ERA) opposes right-hander Mike Fiers (9-7, 3.05) in Friday's opener, followed by Jenrry Mejia's first major league start in two years on Saturday opposite right-hander Shaun Marcum (5-4, 3.71). Chris Young (4-7, 4.39) opposes right-hander Wily Peralta (1-0, 3.46) in Sunday's finale.

Thursday's news reports:

• Major League Baseball released the Mets' full schedule Wednesday. The Subway Series is down to four games -- two games in each ballpark -- on four straight days, beginning Memorial Day at Citi Field. (Yankees manager Joe Girardi told the Post he thought the Subway Series should be an odd number, so a winner could be determined each year.) The Mets will travel to Minnesota, Chicago and Cleveland in interleague play while also hosting the White Sox, Royals and Tigers at Citi Field. Read more in the Times, Newsday and Record.

• Terry Collins said he met, along with David Wright, with Ryan Braun at the All-Star Game to try to ensure there would be no retaliation for D.J. Carrasco plunking Braun during a May series at Citi Field. Collins had pulled Wright from that game to ensure Milwaukee could not get a reprisal against him before leaving Queens.

• Wright told the Daily News he supported his agents, whom he has employed since he was a teenager, despite a reported MLB/MLBPA investigation into whether they were involved in helping procure performance-enhancing drugs for players. Former client Paul Lo Duca reportedly has made that allegation. "I have known these guys since I was 18," Wright said about agents Seth and Sam Levinson. "The only thing I have to go off of is the way they have represented me the last 12 years [and] the integrity that I have seen firsthand that they have for the game. ... I talked to a few different people from the union and I have to talked to the guys over there [the Levinsons] plenty of times, just to hear their side of the story. They have been great to me. So I think they've been going through a rough time and I've made my decision that I'm going to be loyal to them."

• Daniel Murphy was scratched from Wednesday's game with a stiff lower back, but pinch hit and flied out to end the game. His replacement as the starter at second base, Ronny Cedeno, was pulled in the sixth inning with a tight right hamstring. Read more in the Star-Ledger.

• Harvey said he needed to be more efficient with his pitches and go deeper into games. Read Wednesday game recaps in the Post, Star-Ledger, Newsday, Record, Daily News and Times.

• September call-up Zach Lutz will undergo surgery Monday to repair a broken hamate bone in the base of his left hand. Lutz also fractured the bone earlier this season with Triple-A Buffalo. This time he will have surgery to remove the bone.

• Collins believes Jason Bay's struggles may be related to slowed reaction times caused by a pair of serious concussions suffered during the past three seasons.

• Lucas Duda started at first base last night, and will continue to see playing time at the position during the season's final three weeks, presumably against southpaws at the expense of Ike Davis.

• Low-A Savannah and the Mets renewed their player-development agreement through the 2014 season.

TRIVIA: Who has served as pitching coach for the Mets and Brewers?

Wednesday's answer: Ed Kranepool (1,418) and Wright (1,409) rank Nos. 1 and 2 on the franchise's all-time hits list. No. 3 on the Mets' career list is Jose Reyes, with 1,300.