PHILADELPHIA — Even in this bad stretch, which is getting close to half a season of subpar baseball now, the Mets did have one fun thing going for them: They were briefly the Phillies’ daddy.

That’s obviously over now, along with any hope of a miracle comeback in the National League East. The division is painted red now by a better-rounded, stronger-armed Phillies team that beat the Mets 9-3 at Citizens Bank Park on Tuesday night to widen the gap to a season-high nine games.

And let’s be real, a club playing .408 ball for nearly three months isn’t making that up with 17 games to play. The Mets famously once blew a seven-game lead with 17 to go to this very Philly team. But the reverse ain’t happening. Not now.

“We’ve got to play better … There’s no time to feel sorry,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “We’ve got to fight.”