The wheels on the bus are getting flat;

Getting flat, getting flat.

The wheels on the bus are getting flat;

And here come the Cubbies.

Three straight losses to the Braves this weekend no more doom the Mets to also-ran status than three straight victories would have clinched a playoff spot. Let’s get that straight.

But the fact remains that the surge that catapulted the team into postseason contention has come to a halt.

And now it’s just a grind for the East’s fourth-place team that trails the Cubs by two games for the second wild-card berth following the Mets’ 2-1 defeat to Atlanta with Chicago coming to Queens for three starting on Tuesday.

“I think we’re a little drained,” said J.D. Davis, who referred to Thursday night’s double rain delay against Cleveland and Friday night’s 14-inning affair that opened this set. “I’m confident this is just a little speed bump. We’ll recharge on Monday’s off-day, gather our thoughts and be ready to go.”

But it is more than just three straight losses to the Braves, in which the Mets scored in only four of 32 innings. The fact is the team has gone 6-7 since Aug. 11. There are no victory laps for coming up impotent at the plate in meaningful games in late August.

And though this upcoming series isn’t quite do or die — though being swept would put a serious crimp in the team’s plans for October — the Mets are running out of time in which to do a do-si-do with mediocrity. There is little margin for error.

“That’s [the situation] with the hole we dug ourselves into,” Davis said. “It’s been a grind. We’re all feeling it.”

The pitching, perhaps with the exception of an erratic Zack Wheeler, has held up just fine through the grind. Steven Matz was as effective in this one as Jacob deGrom was dominant on Friday, the lefty allowing two hits and one run (a Josh Donaldson second-inning leadoff homer that drifted into the seats) in six innings.

The rotation is the club’s touchstone just as it was in 1969, 1973, 1986 and 2015, and it remains the Mets’ singular weapon in its quest to stay afloat in the race. But the pitchers aren’t going to be able to do this alone. The Mets have to be more productive at the plate and they must be as close to spotless as possible on the basepaths and in the field.

“We were in every game [of the series], so kudos to our pitchers,” said Todd Frazier, 1-for-10 over the weekend and 14-for-85 (.165) this month. “We had our opportunities but just didn’t do anything with them.

“We had opportunities all three games but as a team we didn’t come through.”

The Mets took advantage of a soft late July/early August schedule to resurrect their season and reclaim their good (well) name, going 14-2 in a 16-game stretch against the Padres, Pirates, White Sox and Marlins. But there is no soft underbelly straight ahead, with the next dozen against the Cubs, Phillies and Nationals, all competitors for a postseason berth.

“Every team we play is a contender, at least,” Frazier said. “There’s no chemical. If we’re not winning, we’re not taking care of business.”

And there are still three left against division-leading Atlanta, who apparently didn’t get the memo that the Mets had turned around their season. Those represent the final three games of the season, and they are at Citi Field. The Braves are 11-5 in the season series thus far, 5-1 the last two weeks, after going 13-6 a year ago when the Mets finished 13 games behind the eastern champs. The Mets are now 12 games out of the division lead.

“We’ve got to figure it out,” Mickey Callaway said. “They have a great team, but we have to do better. They’ve beaten up on us a lot in these games.”

The Mets need more consistency in the lineup, more difficult at-bats and more big hits from people not named Pete Alonso. The Mets struck out seven times and made 18 outs on the ground (including three double plays within the first five innings) on Sunday, handled easily through seven innings by Dallas Keuchel.

“We were one big hit short,” said Davis, 2-for-3 with a pair of singles and a walk. “We’ve been swinging at a lot of pitches and getting ourselves out, including myself.”

At one point, the Mets were 5 feet and 11 inches under. They climbed out of the sub-terrain with a dramatic charge. Now, they tread water, playing average baseball.

With the Cubs coming in this week, we will learn more about who are the real Mets.