It was tough sledding for the Mets once again last night, as they lost their fourth straight game and fell to 13-13 on the season. I guess it’s nice to get to .500 by losing four straight instead of winning a bunch of games… well, not really.

The Mets were leading 4-2 going into the eighth inning and everything was hunky-dory, but that changed quickly. Bobby Parnell, who had used only five pitches to get through the seventh, was pitching to Arizona star outfielder Justin Upton when Upton smacked a hard ground ball to first. Ike Davis was in position to make a play, but the ball just skirted by his glove and the inning started with an error.

Davis had twisted his ankle pretty badly while at the plate earlier in the game, but he stayed in the game like the tough dude that he is. Unfortunately, being tough didn’t make up for the fact that Ike opened the door for the game-deciding rally.

“We lost the game because I made an error,” a visibly irritated Davis said after the game. “That’s what I’m frustrated about.”

Of course, it wasn’t all Davis’ fault. Tim Byrdak didn’t help matters by coming in and walking the next batter, Jason Kubel. After the goofy left-hander struck out Miguel Montero, Jon Rauch came in to face the right-handed Paul Goldschmidt.

This is where the game turned. Rauch hung a slider over the plate for his first offering, and Goldschmidt drove it down the right-center field gap. The ball rolled all the way to the wall and scored both Upton and Kubel to tie the game 4-4.

With Goldschmidt on second with a double and still only one out, Cody Ransom came to the plate and lined a single up the middle to bring Goldschmidt around and give Arizona the lead.

After the game on Twitter, Rauch tried to place the blame for the loss on himself.

162 gms in 180 days. Gonna have a bad one here and there. Guys played hard today and I let them down. This loss is on me.

It’s a good sign for team chemistry that more than one guy tried to step up and take blame for the loss, but it’s bad for team chemistry that the team didn’t win the game. I’m probably more upset at the Davis error because I know Rauch is going to give up runs over the course of the season. He’s not that great a pitcher. What I don’t expect is for Davis to let a ground ball go right through him.

More Mets notes

• Rookie Wade Miley, who beat out Kirk Nieuwenhuis for National League Rookie of the Month in April, pitched pretty well for Arizona. He allowed two walks and seven hits in six innings and he struck out four batters. The Mets got to him in the third inning, though.
• All four Mets runs were scored in that third inning. Down 2-0 to start, Ruben Tejada (single), Daniel Murphy (double) and David Wright (walk) all reached to load the bases. With one out, Scott Hairston ripped a double to left field to plate a pair and tie the game. Ike Davis grounded out for an RBI and Andres Torres singled home a run to finish the scoring.
• Arizona initially took the lead in the second inning when Cody Ransom blasted a home run into left field that went over the old Great Wall of Flushing. Miguel Montero also scored on the play.
• Other than giving up that home run, Dillon Gee pitched really well, with six strikeouts, three walks and four hits allowed in six innings.
• The Mets players honored Adam Yauch, who had passed away earlier in the day, by playing Beastie Boys music as they came to bat. Here’s the play list.
• The game ended with underrated outfielder Gerardo Parra making an amazing catch.

The Mets take on the D-backs again this afternoon at 4:05 PM. Rookie left-hander Patrick Corbin will take the mound for Arizona, while the Mets send out Johan Santana to try to end the losing streak.