Mets' skid at five after Rockies' sweep

The Mets tried their best to sound optimistic, hopeful even. But after getting swept by the Colorado Rockies in a four-game series at Citi Field, there were few positives to point to.

Terry Collins tried to mask his anger and frustration during his postgame news conference, but those emotions were all too visible in the way he bit his lip as he answered questions.

"Depressing," he said, succinctly summing up his emotions after the Mets' 1-6 homestand. "We're better than this. And we'll play better than this."

Thursday's doubleheader was the final blow in a devastating stretch for the Mets (4-9), who took a 6-5 loss in Game 1 and a 9-4 defeat in Game 2.

Though they led in each of the past five games against the Nationals and Rockies, they lost all five. The Mets have dropped eight of their last nine heading into a three-game series in Atlanta.

No one, not even Collins, could pinpoint the cause of their slide. Poorly executed pitches, defensive lapses and a lack of timely hitting were all to blame, said the players. But David Wright said he hopes the Mets' sloppy play of late isn't affecting the team's mood.

"In baseball, you have to have that short-term memory," said Wright, who went 2-for-7 in the doubleheader. "No question it was a miserable homestand, and hopefully we can get our stuff together on the road."

Wright had a chance to play hero in the bottom of the ninth in Game 1. After Scott Hairston's two-run homer off Huston Street pulled the Mets within 6-5, Wright batted with the bases loaded and two outs. He got ahead of Matt Lindstrom 2-and-0 and 3-and-1, fouled one off and then flied out to the warning track in rightfield to end it.

"I feel like I'm having good at-bats and just picked the wrong part of the ballpark to hit that ball," Wright said.

Collins' impassioned speech after Wednesday night's loss was supposed to rouse the Mets from their lackadaisical state. Instead, it was Troy Tulowitzki's bat that stayed hot. The Colorado shortstop hit a home run in each game of the series and has seven this season.

He hit a solo shot off reliever Bobby Parnell in the first game and another off Game 2 starter Chris Capuano (1-1, 8.76 ERA). In the four games, he went 10-for-16 with five runs scored, four walks and eight RBIs.

"Troy Tulowitzki is a very, very, very good player, but he came into this series hitting .200. Somebody's getting him out," Collins said. "But we obviously didn't execute the pitches to do the job, and he made us pay."

Game 1 starter R.A. Dickey (1-2, 4.15 ERA) gave up five runs and eight hits in 6 1/3 innings. The knuckleballer walked four batters, bringing his season total to 12 in 171/3 innings. Though Capuano was able to keep the Mets close for much of Game 2, the Rockies' six-run sixth inning was his undoing.

"This is a tough way to start the year," he said. "We have to keep trusting each other and trusting ourselves, because games like this will make you challenge that belief."

Added Jose Reyes: "When you play a doubleheader and you lose both games, that means something's gone wrong. Hopefully, we can play better this road trip because it's ugly right now. We know we're better than that."

Carlos Beltran said he cautioned some of his younger teammates not to panic this early in the season.

"We have to keep fighting," he said. "We have to find a way to win ballgames. I told them the season's long and everything's going to change."