Fill-in starter Robert Stocks strong outing not enough as Mets lose again to Marlins after Freddy Peralta trade

Freddy Peralta said goodbye to the Mets on Sunday, sent to Tampa Bay.Clay Holmes was pitching with Class-A Brooklyn instead of in Queens, as the Mets chose not to end his rehab assignment, even after the right-hander said he was “more than ready” to be in the majors after recovering from a fractured right fibula.That’s why Robert Stock started for this disastrous Mets team on the day before the trade deadline, as the team prepares for the final two months of what’s been among the worst seasons in franchise history.Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Mike Puma about the inside buzz on the Mets.

It won’t be pretty, with more dominoes expected to fall before Monday’s 6 p.m.deadline.On Sunday, they lost a third straight game to the Marlins, this one 2-0, as the offense has been limited to 11 runs in the past six games. As interim manager Andy Green said of interim starter Stock, who started just three games in his brief MLB career before Sunday, “It came down to who was available today and had the right amount of pitches [to throw].

He’s aware of that.He’s smart.”This is what the Mets have resorted to and even though the 36-year-old Stock pitched well, allowing just one run in five innings, they were unable to avoid a loss that got them back to a season-high 19 games under .500.Stock gave up just a one-out homer to Joe Mack in the fifth.The Mets then turned to a trio of other likely trade targets, Brooks Raley, Luke Weaver and Huascar Brazoban, rather than avoiding them as the deadline closed in.But Devin Williams, who isn’t going anywhere, gave up a run in the ninth to give Miami some insurance as the Marlins try to stay in the NL wild-card race.By the time the Mets play again, in Cleveland on Tuesday to start a nine-game road trip, they will undoubtedly look different, but any hope of a second-half turnaround has long since disappeared.“We’ve got a game to play, a game to win,’’...