The New York Mets have been working hard over the past few weeks to get themselves back into the playoff hunt in the National League Wild Card race, but on Friday night, they didn't exactly do themselves any favors.

They suffered a 14-2 rout at the hands of the Pittsburgh Pirates, and the first guy that many folks looked at was starting pitcher Luis Severino, who simply wasn't good enough on the night.

Going up against Pirates phenom Paul Skenes was always going to be a tough task for New York, but they didn't get much help from Severino on the night (6 IP, 9 H, 7 ER, 3 K, 2 BB). Conversely, Skenes was once again lights out for Pittsburgh (7 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 8 K, 2 BB), and he held off New York long enough for his team's offense to get things going. When reflecting on the game, Severino had a simple assessment of his battle against Skenes.

“When you’re facing somebody like that, you have to have your A-game. He was better than me today.” – Luis Severino, Newsday

Luis Severino, Mets hoping to bounce back quickly after rough loss

New York Mets starting pitcher Luis Severino (40) delivers a pitch against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the first inning at PNC Park.
Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

For the most part, Severino has had a solid debut season with the Mets to this point (5-3, 3.83 ERA, 77 K, 1.20 WHIP), but he simply wasn't up to the challenge of dueling against Skenes in this one. That's all right because nobody has really been able to slow down Skenes yet, but New York had a chance to do so on Friday night. The problem was that they failed.

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The good news is that it's only one game, and over the course of a 162-game season, you are bound to have some nights where things just don't go your way. That's precisely the message star shortstop Francisco Lindor had after the game, as it sounded like he already was looking to New York's next game against Pittsburgh, which will be on Saturday at 4:05 PM EST.

“Good pitcher. Like everybody is saying, he’s got a bright future…The good thing is it’s only one game. They came out, and they played better than us.” – Francisco Lindor, Newsday

While the Mets are 15 games behind the NL East-leading Philadelphia Phillies, they are just 3.5 games behind the St. Louis Cardinals in the race for the final Wild Card spot, so they still have a lot to play for moving forward.

Sure, their record may be below .500 (42-44), but the NL Wild Card race is wide open, and as we have seen at times this year, it doesn't take much to get this team going.

New York will have a bit of an easier matchup on Saturday when they take on Bailey Falter, but they are still going to have to find a way to get their scuffling lineup going if they intend on getting back in the win column.

Severino couldn't get the job done against Skenes, but that doesn't mean the sky is falling, and it will be worth keeping an eye on the Mets to see if they can bounce back after this rough loss.