Matt Harvey will likely line up as the Mets starter for Game 3 of the NLDS.

THE ROTATION: The Mets will use a four-man rotation in the playoffs, with Jacob deGrom lined up to be the Game 1 starter. According to a team source, they tentatively have Noah Syndergaard penciled in for Game 2, followed by Matt Harvey and then Steven Matz. Bartolo Colon and/or Jon Niese could end up in the bullpen.

DeGrom will start the series finale against the Reds Sunday and he will be pushed to about 100 pitches, because in his final start, Sunday at CIti Field against the Nationals, he will be limited.

Pitching coach Dan Warthen said that all four playoff-bound starters will be limited to 45 to 60 pitches in their final regular-season start.

THE DODGERS: Now that the Nationals are in their rear-view mirror, the Mets turn their attention to the Dodgers, their likely NLDS opponent, and beating them out for home-field advantage.

The Mets (88-67) lead L.A. (87-67) by a half game after the Dodgers lost Saturday night in Colorado. Their magic number is two. The Mets won the season series with the Dodgers 4-3, which would be the tie-breaker in the event that they finish with identical records.

“There is going to be a focus on (winning home field). We’re close and we know what an advantage that would be for us,” Collins said. “We’re not going to ride (the starting pitchers) too hard, but I think it’s important we keep them in line and make sure everybody is pitching. Same with the lineup. We’ll give them some time off, but there will be the focus for home-field advantage no doubt.”

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Matt Harvey tosses 97 pitches as he lets everyone know he wants to pitch and win in the postseason.

CINCINNATI — Terry Collins was in the outfield during batting practice at Citi Field last Tuesday when Matt Harvey approached him and said, “I need to talk to you.”

“The way he said it,’’ the Mets’ manager recalled, “I knew something was eating at him.”

As it turned out, that was the start of a new Harvey plan, prescribed not by Scott Boras but by the Mets’ pitcher himself.

It led to him at least temporarily putting aside concerns about innings limits and throwing 97 pitches over 6.2 innings on Saturday in the Mets’ 10-2 win over the Reds that clinched the NL East.

As far as Collins was concerned, that was more important than the win itself.

“I think Matt got frustrated by what happened in the Yankee game,” Collins said. “He got caught in the middle of this thing, and I’ve said all along that he’s a good teammate, but some guys in that clubhouse got turned off by it. And I can understand that.

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“So I think what he did today was his way of saying to them, ‘Hey look, what happened happened. I can’t change that but I’m still the guy that wants the baseball.’ And these guys believe him.”

As he spoke, Collins was standing in the visiting manager’s office, some 30 minutes after Jeurys Familia had closed out the win. A wild celebration was in full swing in the clubhouse, but Collins had retreated to a quiet spot — initially because I had asked him how emotional the day had been for him.

“It only got to me once, when I thought about my father during the game,’’ Collins said, and then suddenly his eyes were wet and he couldn’t talk for some 30 seconds.

His dad died in February, and naturally Collins wished he could have been alive to see his son finally manage a team to the postseason, at age 67.

“I’m sure he’s proud,” he finally managed to say.

Aaron Doster/AP

Harvey celebrates after picking up the win in the division-clinching game.

Collins had a right to be proud as well, but he was quick to change the subject and talk about a revitalized Harvey and what he sees as “a team on a mission.”

The mission continues now with a likely playoff matchup against the Dodgers, one in which we’ll find out if the Mets’ young pitching is ready to match Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke strikeout for strikeout.

On this day, however, it was fitting that the Mets pounded the Reds in the clincher, a reminder their transformed offense was as vital as their young pitching in their turnaround.

Yet the Harvey drama once again took front and center, only this time for all the right reasons.

If the Mets are going to make a deep run in October they’ll surely need to count on Harvey being able to pitch, and while Collins made a point of saying the innings limits will still be in play, he believes Harvey, for whatever reason, has a different view of the situation.

“When he came to me last week he said, ‘I want to pitch. I want to stay out there. I want to throw 100 pitches and I want to do it twice (before the end of the season). “He said, ‘We’re going to win this thing and I’m going to pitch in the playoffs, and I’ve got to be ready. And I’m not ready.’ ”

Pitching coach Dan Warthen said Harvey delivered an even more forceful message to him.

“He said he wants to go 100 pitches every fifth day the rest of the way,” Warthen said.

Good for Harvey. He came off after the Yankee game sounding disingenuous about how much he wanted to stay in that night, acting as if he had no say in it, so give him credit for taking control of the situation, no matter how much Scott Boras may disagree.

Harvey didn’t lay it out that way after Saturday’s game, but this time he was more definitive about his intentions.

“For all the things that people have said,” Harvey said, “the last thing I ever want to do is put the ball down, and we’re on our way to October. I’m going to be there. I’m going to be fighting every time I get the ball.”

With the message delivered, Collins and Warthen had revised the plan for Saturday, figuring Harvey would go six innings, but after the sixth the pitcher asked Collins to let him pitch the seventh.

“I said, ‘We’ve got it all set up for 7-8-9,’ and he just looked at me and said, ‘Let me go back out there.’ I said, ‘You’ve got it, big boy.’ ”

Collins smiled now. He was drained from all the emotion of dealing with innings limits in recent weeks, and then the events of Saturday, thinking of his late father. But above all, the manager was exhilarated too by a single thought:

He had his ace back.

CINCINNATI — Terry Collins was in the outfield during batting practice at Citi Field last Tuesday when Matt Harvey approached him and said, “I need to talk to you.”

“The way he said it,’’ the Mets’ manager recalled, “I knew something was eating at him.”

As it turned out, that was the start of a new Harvey plan, prescribed not by Scott Boras but by the Mets’ pitcher himself.

It led to him at least temporarily putting aside concerns about innings limits and throwing 97 pitches over 6.2 innings on Saturday in the Mets’ 10-2 win over the Reds that clinched the NL East.

As far as Collins was concerned, that was more important than the win itself.

“I think Matt got frustrated by what happened in the Yankee game,” Collins said. “He got caught in the middle of this thing, and I’ve said all along that he’s a good teammate, but some guys in that clubhouse got turned off by it. And I can understand that.

“So I think what he did today was his way of saying to them, ‘Hey look, what happened happened. I can’t change that but I’m still the guy that wants the baseball.’ And these guys believe him.”

As he spoke, Collins was standing in the visiting manager’s office, some 30 minutes after Jeurys Familia had closed out the win. A wild celebration was in full swing in the clubhouse, but Collins had retreated to a quiet spot — initially because I had asked him how emotional the day had been for him.

“It only got to me once, when I thought about my father during the game,’’ Collins said, and then suddenly his eyes were wet and he couldn’t talk for some 30 seconds.

His dad died in February, and naturally Collins wished he could have been alive to see his son finally manage a team to the postseason, at age 67.

“I’m sure he’s proud,” he finally managed to say.

Collins had a right to be proud as well, but he was quick to change the subject and talk about a revitalized Harvey and what he sees as “a team on a mission.”

The mission continues now with a likely playoff matchup against the Dodgers, one in which we’ll find out if the Mets’ young pitching is ready to match Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke strikeout for strikeout.

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On this day, however, it was fitting that the Mets pounded the Reds in the clincher, a reminder their transformed offense was as vital as their young pitching in their turnaround.

Yet the Harvey drama once again took front and center, only this time for all the right reasons.

If the Mets are going to make a deep run in October they’ll surely need to count on Harvey being able to pitch, and while Collins made a point of saying the innings limits will still be in play, he believes Harvey, for whatever reason, has a different view of the situation.

John Sommers II/Getty Images

Clinching the NL East was an emotional day for Mets manager Terry Collins.

“When he came to me last week he said, ‘I want to pitch. I want to stay out there. I want to throw 100 pitches and I want to do it twice (before the end of the season). “He said, ‘We’re going to win this thing and I’m going to pitch in the playoffs, and I’ve got to be ready. And I’m not ready.’ ”

Pitching coach Dan Warthen said Harvey delivered an even more forceful message to him.

“He said he wants to go 100 pitches every fifth day the rest of the way,” Warthen said.

Good for Harvey. He came off after the Yankee game sounding disingenuous about how much he wanted to stay in that night, acting as if he had no say in it, so give him credit for taking control of the situation, no matter how much Scott Boras may disagree.

Harvey didn’t lay it out that way after Saturday’s game, but this time he was more definitive about his intentions.

“For all the things that people have said,” Harvey said, “the last thing I ever want to do is put the ball down, and we’re on our way to October. I’m going to be there. I’m going to be fighting every time I get the ball.”

With the message delivered, Collins and Warthen had revised the plan for Saturday, figuring Harvey would go six innings, but after the sixth the pitcher asked Collins to let him pitch the seventh.

“I said, ‘We’ve got it all set up for 7-8-9,’ and he just looked at me and said, ‘Let me go back out there.’ I said, ‘You’ve got it, big boy.’ ”

Collins smiled now. He was drained from all the emotion of dealing with innings limits in recent weeks, and then the events of Saturday, thinking of his late father. But above all, the manager was exhilarated too by a single thought:

He had his ace back.  

With KRISTIE ACKERT

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Noah Syndergaard turns in the kind of dominant performance that makes it look like he is a Game 1 starter in the National League Division Series.

CINCINNATI — The manager is still on edge, annoyed on Friday night that Noah Syndergaard’s masterpiece turned into a raggedy finish. Most players take his cue and practically run from any talk of a celebration at hand.

It’s as if no one wants to jinx this magical run that started, seemingly out of nowhere, back in late July when the cavalry started arriving from destinations all around the MLB map, not to mention Double-A Binghamton as well.

But the celebration is at hand, after the Mets clinched at least a tie for the NL East with a 12-5 victory over the Reds on Friday night, and it’s likely to come Saturday if for no other reason than the Nationals have quit on the season.

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Ideally, of course, the Mets would like to do it themselves, but either way the champagne will flow, Terry Collins might shed a tear or two to finally reach the postseason as a manager at age 67, and players will tell the world they believed it would happen even when no one else did.

Of course, no one will soak it all in quite like Mets fans, who had to wonder at times over the last nine years, including six straight losing seasons, if their team would ever celebrate another playoff berth.

Tom Uhlman/AP

Terry Collins (r.) is on the verge of his first playoff appearance as a manager.

The fact that this team has awakened from its sleepy home stand adds to the good vibe all around, and offers reason to believe that anything is possible in October.

Lucas Duda is hitting bombs again, the lineup is dangerous from top to bottom again, and then there is Syndergaard.

He was so dominant on Friday night, pitching such a polished game for a 23-year-old who only arrived in the big leagues in May, that suddenly you have to ask the question regarding a postseason playoff rotation.

What if Jacob deGrom doesn’t respond well to having been skipped in the rotation? Would the Mets gamble on their 6-foot-7 rookie righthander to open — and possibly close — their upcoming playoff series with the Dodgers?

There are plenty of scenarios to consider regarding the postseason rotation, but for the moment there is no question that Syndergaard’s stock is rising by the minute.

Not that Great American Ball Park resembled a playoff atmosphere on Friday night. Far from it, yet Syndergaard dominated a dangerous Reds lineup in an eye-popping manner that made a case for just how much he’s matured this season.

It wasn’t just that the he racked up 11 strikeouts over 7.2 innings, but the way he did it, demonstrating perhaps the best command that he’s had of his curveball and changeup all season. All of which made his fastball, thrown mostly at 98 mph and occasionally 99 or even 100, all the more overpowering.

And so Collins called the start “the best one he’s had’’ in the big leagues. And Syndergaard himself, while trying not to overstate it, admitted, “That was pretty amazing tonight.’’

He had a shutout going with two outs in the eighth inning when he gave up a home run on a changeup to Brennan Boesch, and then a single that convinced Collins to pull him.

By then it was all academic, as the Mets led 12-1, and it didn’t really matter that the bottom of the bullpen allowed the game to drag on for a while.

Jamie Sabau/Getty Images

The Mets don’t need Syndergaard’s bat as badly as they once did earlier this season.

The bats took any worry out of a Reds comeback; Duda’s two home runs could signal a hot streak that could take him right into October.

Yet this team knows that to beat the Dodgers it likely will have to go pitch-for-pitch with Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke, and Syndergaard’s start on Friday night offered reason to believe in that very possibility. Lately there has been concern that some of those Met arms were running out of gas, yet the team seems committed to using its four young power pitchers in a postseason rotation, with deGrom as the likely Game 1 starter. That would put him in position to come back on regular rest in a Game 5, if necessary. They’re not going to put Harvey in that slot because, with his innings limits, they can’t count on him to pitch a Game 5.

But what if deGrom continues to look rather average, as he has over the last few weeks, even after getting the extra rest? Would they elevate Syndergaard to the 1-5 spot?

Collins isn’t discussing that just yet but he made a point of noting that Syndergaard pitched a strong game against the Dodgers in Los Angeles on July 3, allowing one run over six innings. And with two strong road starts since coming off his own skipped start, Syndergaard is making all the home/road concerns diminish.

It all makes for great intrigue, to be discussed and overanalyzed in the coming days. That is, once they crack the champagne and Collins finally can smile again.

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Noah Syndergaard turns in perhaps his most impressive preformance of the season.

METS 12, REDS 5

CINCINNATI – Noah Syndergaard went out and made the mound at the Great American Ball Park his own Friday night, delivering one of his most impressive starts anywhere as the the Mets blew away the Reds 12-5 and pulled within one win of clinching their first playoff spot since 2006.

Syndergaard was brilliant as the Mets (87-67) won their second straight game and ninth straight on the road. More importantly, with the Nationals losing to Philadelphia, the Mets can clinch the National League East and their first playoff spot since 2006 on Saturday.

Syndergaard (8-8) picked up his second win outside Citi Field. He allowed three soft-hit singles in the first three innings and then retired 16 straight, before giving up a pinch hit home run to Brennan Boesch. He struck out 11 for his fourth double-digit strikeout game and did not walk a batter in 7.2 innings.

He allowed two runs on five hits, leaving after giving up a single after the Boesch home run.

Syndergaard also had two singles and an RBI.

Duda had his sixth multiple-home run game of the season and a career-high six RBI. Curtis Granderson also had a three-run homer, his first home run since Aug. 31 and in 70 at-bats.

It was important that the offense got going, but it was even more important that Syndergaard delivered his performance Friday night in a hostile stadium. While the 23-year old has had his struggled on the road, going winless in his first nine road starts, the Mets are looking at starting him away from Citi Field in the playoffs.

Tom Uhlman/AP

Lucas Duda gets a high-five from Travis d’Arnaud after a home run.

“One of the things that somebody brought up to me was if we get into the postseason was the question of (Syndergaard) pitching on the road,” Terry Collins said. “Well, one of the best games he pitched was in Los Angeles. I think he’s growing and getting to understand what it’s like to pitch on the road.

“Right now every game is huge, he better approach this as just another game and not care where it’s played at.”

In his July 3 start at Dodger Stadium, Syndergaard held the Dodgers to one fun on two hits over six innings, striking out six and walking two.

Still, pitching on the road in his first-ever playoff appearance would be a pretty big assignment for Syndergaard, who was making just his 23rd major-league start Friday.

The road had become such a big mental roadblock for Syndergaard, that Dan Warthen had to figure out a way to get him more comfortable away from Citi Field.

“I told him take the mound with him,” the Mets pitching coach said. “Take some of the dirt off the mound at home and keep it in your pocket when you start on the road.

“He did that for the first (road win),” Warthen said. “Now he doesn’t need it, because he knows he’s capable of throwing any pitch for a strike in any count. That’s what he relies on.”

Tom Uhlman/AP

Duda bashes two home runs in the game.

In his three starts on the road leading up to Friday’s start, , Syndergaard is 1-0 with a 3.18 ERA.

“He’s getting more comfortable,” Warthen said. “He’s getting more confident he can throw any pitch he wants for a strike in any count.”

Collins is confident, however, having seen Syndergaard grow from just another power arm to a pitcher who is learning his craft.

“I think he’s got a better idea of what he needs to do to get outs in the big leagues,” Collins said. “His stuff, we all know he’s got great stuff, but I think he’s become a little bit better pitcher, not just the guy who rears back and throws it hard.

“I have seen him make some big pitches in big situations that I don’t think he would have done earlier in the year.”

Earlier in the year, Syndergaard was pitching with the dirt from the Citi Field mound in his pocket like a security blanket. Now, he is just pitching with confidence and owning the mound as he goes into the playoffs.

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Steven Matz (r.) gets a no-decision put does contribute offensively for the Mets Thursday night.

METS 6, REDS 4

CINCINNATI — Daniel Murphy had been locked in for the last week, but he knew the Mets were missing those big, clutch hits. So when he rounded second in the seventh inning and drove toward third he was stoked when he popped up at the bag with a triple.

Murphy was not just celebrating driving in the go-ahead run in the Mets’ 6-4 win over the Reds Thursday night at Great American Ball Park, but the fact that the offense was getting back on track with clutch hitting.

And doing it just in time.

The Mets (86-67) snapped a two game losing streak and reduced their magic number to clinch the National League East — and their first playoff appearance since 2006 — to three. They lead Washington by 7.5 games with nine to play.

Steven Matz took his first no-decision in the major leagues, going 5.2 innings. He struck out eight — all in the first four innings — and did not issue a walk. Matz gave up three runs, the first time he has allowed more than two in his six major league starts, giving up a career-high 10 hits.

Lucas Duda had two doubles and drove in two runs for the Mets, while Yoenis Cespedes went 2-for-4 with two RBI.

“It was a good ballgame tonight. A good team win,” Murphy said. “It puts us a step closer.”

David Kohl/USA Today Sports

Curtis Granderson beats the throw at home to score the first run in a three-run seventh inning.

Murphy made his major league debut in 2007 and has been with the Mets through the down years. Now, closing in on his first trip to the playoffs as his first year of free agency and a likely move to another team loom, he is excited.

“It’s fun,” Murphy said. “That’s the easiest way to describe it. We don’t need a lot of adjectives: It’s just fun. We have a great group of guys and we’re having a whole lot of fun right now.”

Thursday was a return to fun, because the offense seemed to break out after a nine-game struggle at Citi Field. The Mets managed to scrape together 23 runs during that home stand and lost six of the nine games.

“We felt like that one big hit, that two-out hit has been eluding us just a little bit,” said Murphy.

With the game tied, 3-3, Curtis Granderson on first and two outs, Murphy lined a ball into the right field corner, scoring Granderson and seemingly breaking the Mets’ offensive funk.

Cespedes fell behind 1-2 before he lined a single to center to score Murphy, setting up Duda’s double to center that brought home Cespedes to make it 6-3.

“Ces gets a two-strike, two-out hit and Lucas gets a two-strike two-out hit to extend the lead,” Murphy said. “That was eluding us.”

Tom Uhlman/AP

Mets MVP Yoenis Cespedes drives in a crucial run for the Mets in the seventh.

Murphy extended his hitting streak to seven games, during which he is 12-for-26 with three doubles, two triples a home run and six RBI. Duda had two doubles and drove in two runs.

“He’s locked, he’s locked in,” Terry Collins said. “We’ve seen it for six years, nobody can get him out. I don’t care where you throw it from, he’s got a chance to get a hit.

“It’s coming at the best time too,” the manager said. “That middle of that lineup is going to carry us. When he gets hot he can be real dangerous.”

The Mets had been getting those big two-out hits during the seven-game winning streak they ended their last road trip with. Murphy’s two-out home run that sent their final game of that road trip into extra innings. But it got away from them during the nine-game home stand, when they seemed to be chasing balls out of the zone and trying to hit home runs.

“We swung the bats good last night, we just didn’t get many hits,” Collins said of Wednesday night’s loss to the Braves. “We hit the ball just as well tonight, but we hit them where nobody was standing tonight.

“It’s a good night and a big win. We’re getting to the point where every single win is important for us.” 

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Instead of heading to the exits on Sunday, Nats fans will pull out their Yoga mats and try to forget the 2015 season.

I have to say I don’t know much about Yoga. I knew this girl in college who was going to try it, but read in some book you can die doing it, so she forgot about it. (I think that was extreme Yoga).

I know there are some sights on the web that feature pictures of women wearing Yoga pants and NYDN Back Page guy lost a bunch of weight doing Yoga a few years ago and you need a mat to do it. We bought that Wii Fit board a few years ago, and now that is where my kids stack up their video games.

If I had to sum it up, I would say Yoga is a way of relaxing and exercising/toning at the same time and it has something to do with your balance and core. 

What I do know is that Sunday, our friends in DC will be hosting a post-game Yoga party. It’s something called Yoga in the Outfield, where Nationals fans – with a special ticket purchase – will have to chance to have a 45-minute Yoga class on the outfield grass after the game. You even get a little Yoga mat with the Nats logo on it.

Maybe, just maybe, after being a complete and utter disappointment all season, the Nats are offering their fans – with a special purpose – a chance to relax and let all their troubles vanish into thin air with a few upward facing dog poses. They can forget about Matt Williams being a buffoon or Max Scherzer being a $ 30M waste of money or that they are stuck with Papelbum for a fwe minutes.

And hopefully, if things go right, this Yogafest will be going on around the same time the Mets are celebrating the NL East title. The Mets have six games between now and the big Yoga fest, so if they can go 5-1, all we need are two Nats losses to make that happen. Now, these are the Mets, so even if they are going to clinch the division, there is no way they will do it the same day Nats fans are oooming and ummmming on the outfield grass. And knowing our Mets, we may be the ones in need of some serious relaxation by Sunday, but I think we should be ok. Maybe a few Yoga sessions before the playoffs would help, but let’s get there first. 

So enjoy the Yoga party Nats fans, I’ll go with the bubbly instead.

It’s Logan Verrett in place of deGrom Tuesday at Citi Field. I wasn’t crazy about Collins taking Niese out after six innings, but clearly TC is trying to get this 7-8-9 inning punch lined up. It worked Monday.

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METS 4, BRAVES 0

Michael Conforto is in, Jon Niese is probably not. Monday night, however, the playoff roster did not matter as the rookie and the veteran combined to get the Mets back on track toward their first playoff appearance in eight years.

Niese had his best start in over a month and Conforto crushed a home run as the Mets shut out the struggling Braves, 4-0, in front of a quiet crowd of 26,362 at Citi Field.

The Mets (85-65) snapped a two-game losing streak and moved to 6.5 games ahead of the Nationals, who were rained out Monday, in the National League East.

The Mets magic number to clinch a playoff spot for the first time since 2006 dropped to seven.

“We needed this one bad,” Terry Collins said. “I am not trying to hide anything. There are big wins; this is a big win for us.

MARTINO: WHY ALL THE GLOOM FOR METS?

After the Mets imploded Sunday night — right after they had to pull Matt Harvey as part of the plan to manage his innings — the Mets manager was not fooling around Monday.

Niese held the awful Braves scoreless through six innings, striking out two and walking two. While Niese had his breaking pitches working for the

first time in weeks, Collins yanked him in fear of the big innings that have undone the lefty many times in the past.

“I told Jon one of the things that has bit him, he’s gotten hurt by a big inning,” Collins said. “He wasn’t pitching bad, he was pitching fine, but we just can’t afford a big inning right now. So I went to the pen.”

Addison Reed and Tyler Clippard pitched two scoreless innings. Jeurys Familia threw a scoreless ninth to lock it down.

As the Mets look to end their eight-year absence from the playoffs, Niese will likely get one more full start to make his case for a spot on the playoff roster. The organization, however, seems inclined to just go with their young starters: Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard, Matt Harvey and Steven Matz.

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“I mean, I don’t really think about that kind of stuff,” Niese said of trying to pitch his way into the Mets’ playoff plans. “Whenever they ask me go out there and start, I go out and do my best and just give my best effort. Whatever decisions they make, it’s up to them.”

It is comparatively an easy decision that Conforto will be playing for the Mets in the playoffs next month and, perhaps, for years to come. He sparked the offense Monday.

Daniel Murphy had a two-run double in the seventh inning and the Mets scored one in the first on Travis d’Arnaud’s groundout.

Conforto crushed his eighth home run, a solo shot to the left-field Party City deck in the second.

“This guy’s got some kind of power,” Collins said. “Again, of all the things I have heard, one of the things that has really surprised me is not just the opposite-field power, but the power itself. This guy is going to be a good hitter and he’s going to be a home run hitter.

“He’s got enough juice to put up some big numbers.”

Coincidentally, on Monday Conforto was named the Sterling Player of the Year, awarded to the best player in all the Mets’ minor leagues. That seemed unnecessary, since Conforto is already hitting .285 with eight home runs and 23 RBI in 46 games in the majors.

“That was the cherry on top,” Conforto said of the home run. “It was an awesome day and couldn’t have gone any better. It was really cool to get the award and get the win today and get back on the right side of things. We’ll just keep it going.”

For Conforto, it will keep going as long as the Mets play this season. For Niese, the end will likely come sooner. 

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The Subway Series finale dragged to an anticlimactic conclusion Sunday night at Citi Field thanks to a sluggish performance from the Mets, as the Yankees rolled to an 11-2 victory.

The Yankees took two out of three in Queens, after doing the same in the Bronx in April, reestablishing their longstanding reign over Big Apple baseball.

The Yankees didn’t shy away from driving home that point, either. After the sixth inning, the team’s official account tweeted out the score — at the time 5-1 Yankees — referring to itself as “Big brother” and the Mets as “little brother.”

Like any older brother, kicking the younger brother when they’re down.

“It’s a what have you done for me lately city, and obviously, they’ve been excellent and their history speaks for itself,” David Wright said. “They’ve earned all the accolades that they’ve obtained. It doesn’t do us any favors going out there and losing 11-2 to them, either. You kind of make the bed that you sleep in, and we just need to do a better job of kind of annually being in a position where we can become a playoff team. And they’ve done that, and we haven’t.”

The start of that perennial relevance could start this season for the Mets. But on Sunday night, sloppy fielding, inadequate relief pitching and insufficient offensive production all factored into a loss that dropped the Mets’ NL East lead over the Nationals — who beat the Marlins Sunday afternoon — to six games with 13 games to play.

The lead is still significant, but the Mets didn’t look like a team headed to the playoffs in the series finale. And while some of it had to do with ace Matt Harvey departing after five scoreless frames — the result of an agent-propelled innings limit — it seemed every other facet of the team failed Sunday as the Yankees piled on run after run after run.

The game unraveled in the sixth when reliever Hansel Robles replaced Harvey. The inning started when Jacoby Ellsbury reached base on an infield single and advanced to second when Daniel Murphy’s throw sailed wide of the base. The next batter, Brett Gardner, grounded to Robles, but the reliever opted to try to catch Ellsbury at third, and Wright was unable to handle the throw.

Carlos Beltran followed by doubling both runners home. Later in the inning, with Robles still on the mound, Dustin Ackley deposited a three-run home run over the right-center-field fence.

The rout was on.

“Everybody knew Matt was going to come out early,” Terry Collins said. “We just didn’t make any pitches.”

The lead ballooned when the Mets walked in a run in the seventh and the Yankees added five more in the eighth, three of which came on a home run from rookie Greg Bird off Tim Stauffer.

The Mets bats, meanwhile, stayed quiet.

Yoenis Cespedes finally ended his hitless streak after 19 at-bats with a double in the fifth inning, but that was just about the only positive the Mets could take away from Sunday night.

And a series with so much hope in a season with so much promise ended in very familiar fashion for the Mets: losing, badly, to the Big Brother Yankees.

“You want to give the Mets fans something to brag about in work on Monday, and we weren’t able to do that,” Wright said. “We wish that we could have.”

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After a six-run sixth inning gave the Yankees a 6-1 lead, the official Yankees Twitter account tweeted, “CC, still dealing! After 6: Big brother 5, little brother 1 #PinstripePride.”

Sabathia was indeed still dealing, contrary to Harvey, who was pulled after five innings due to a predetermined innings limit. To add insult to injury they also reminded the Mets that they are still the “little brother” in this city.

This wasn’t the only social media jabbing going on during the Subway Series.

The Mets official Twitter account has refused to write “Yankees” in a tweet all weekend, instead calling them “New York (AL).”

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Terry Collins announced Saturday morning that deGrom will not make his scheduled start Tuesday against the Braves, with Matt Harvey fill-in starter Logan Verrett taking his place. The team has yet to determine when deGrom will take the mound again.

“Could be a skip. Could be push him back some days,” Collins said. “The wins and losses here in the next few days will dictate when that date may come up.”

DeGrom said Saturday he doesn’t agree with the team’s decision and that he doesn’t feel tired. But if he has to miss a start, deGrom said he’d rather the team push him back a couple days than skip his turn in the rotation completely.

“I don’t know if I necessarily need it, but it can’t hurt,” deGrom said. “That’s what they chose to do, so that’s what we’re gonna do.”

Collins and deGrom agreed that a lack of command has led to the struggles in recent outings. The right-hander has pitched to a 5.50 ERA in his past three starts, dating back to Sept. 4, and Collins thinks deGrom — who has thrown 181 innings this season — is showing signs of fatigue.

“You can just see the location of his pitches is not what it needs to be,” Collins said. “That to me dictates that, even though the velocity is still good, the release point needs to be under control a little bit more.”

Rest has helped deGrom in the past. As a rookie in 2014, deGrom spent two weeks on the disabled list in August because of shoulder inflammation. When he returned, he went 3-1 with a 2.25 ERA in his final six starts.

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