“The ball slipped out like a wet bar of soap,” play-by-play man Andy Freed said on the Rays’ TV broadcast, which was a great description and made sense since the game had started after a 51-minute rain delay and the ball could have been a little wet.

Because on Saturday, the struggles of the No. 5 starter continued in an 8-4 loss to the Rays in front of 41,662 rain-soaked fans at Citi Field, where the Mets dropped a series — snapping a streak of six series they either won or tied — before Sunday’s finale.