In a little more than two weeks, the New York Mets went from comfortable division lead to the lowest of lows: Athree-game sweepdoled out by thePittsburgh Pirates. Not even a players-only meeting could stop the carnage, as the Mets' response after a Saturday night airing of grievances was a 12-1 loss at PNC Park that capped a three-game set in which Pittsburgh outscored the Mets 30-4. Little wonder, then, that the Mets tumbled four places in USA TODAY Sports' power rankings. NL CENTRAL:Milwaukee keeps its secrets in 'The Keg' It's hard to call this a low point since it's merely the end of June and the Mets are just 1 ½ games behind the similarly inconsistentPhiladelphia Philliesin the National League East. Yet on June 12, they held a 5 ½-game lead and the confidence that injured pitchers such asFrankie MontasandSean Manaeawere coming back. Well, Montas gave up a half-dozen runs to the Pirates on Sunday and Manaea now has an elbow injury to add to his oblique recovery. And trusty fill-in Griffin Canning is now out for the year with an Achilles injury. A look at our updated rankings: Tarik Skubal makes franchise history: 13 strikeouts and one hit over seven innings. Clayton Kershaw lined up for 3,000th strikeout at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday. They win the Tucker-Paredes-Smith Cup to cap a 25-10 stretch. Ryan Pressly gets some home cooking in Houston as Astrosregale himwith old Johnny Cash intro. Ranger Suarez is dealing, as they say. Twelve runs of support a nice welcome back gift for Marcus Stroman. Brandon Lowe's career-best hitting streak reaches 16 games. Perhaps Jesse Winker - on rehab assignment for oblique injury - can save the day. The Quinn Priester joyride continues with 11-strikeout performance. Sonny Gray throws first shutout since 2015 - both at Cleveland. Closer Robert Suarez has hit a bump in the road. Dare to dream: A four-game sweep of Yankees could put them alone in first place. They drop a series at White Sox, and Justin Verlander still seeking first win as a Giant. HVAC pitchman Spencer Steer keys ninth-inning rally to take Padres series. That's pretty cool. Big Bummer:Cal Raleighgetting Barry Bonds treatment with four intentional walks over the weekend. Kinda need to firmly clear .500 before trade activity picks up. Walker Buehler had an 11.07 ERA in five June starts. An absolutely magnetic connection to the .500 mark. About time to toss them in the "deadline sellers" bucket. Royce Lewis once again set to return from injury. Mike Trout starting to muscle up a bit. Jurickson Profar returns Wednesday from 80-game PED ban - and they could probably use him. Just 20-24 at home. After sweeping Arizona, just a half-game behind Atlanta for third place. Coby Mayo finally clubs first career home run - off a position player. Fifth last-place finish in six years looking like a real possibility. Rollicking sweep of Mets afitting tribute to Dave Parker. After seeing Rays' sweet temporary digs in Tampa, Yolo County will look even grimmer. Luis Robert back on the IL with hamstring injury. Now 19-65, but their manager will surelyshow some fire. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:MLB power rankings: Mets' weekend beatdown latest in NL East standings