NEW YORK — If you weren’t up for waiting up for the end, you didn’t miss much, especially if you were a Cubs fan.

In a strong stretch of play in the second half of the season for the team, this one was a dud.

Losing to the Mets before a lengthy rain delay at Citi Field, things only got away from the Cubs even more on a forgettable night for the club. New York added four more runs after it to pull away for an 11-2 win.

The Cubs are now 2 1/2 games behind the Brewers for first in the NL Central but just one in back of the Reds for the final Wild Card spot in the National League.

It’s the most lopsided loss for the team in the second half of the season, besting their 8-0 defeat at the hands of the Braves on Friday. The Cubs rallied to take the final two games of that series at Wrigley Field this past weekend and will try to do the same when they play the final pair the next two days.

Drew Smyly struggled on a big night for the Mets, who had lost six straight following a major trade deadline selloff during a disappointing year. Pete Alonzo hit a pair of homers off the starter, a three-run shot in the first and a two-run long ball in the second, on his way to a six-RBI night.

Smyly would surrender seven runs on eight hits over five innings as his record fell to 8-8 and his ERA rose above five (5.05).

He was out of the game by the seventh inning when the game would enter a 2-hour, 9-minute delay in the top of the seventh inning. When the game returned, things didn’t get better, as reliever Daniel Palencia surrendered a three-run homer to Danny Mendick in the bottom half of the inning.

With the game out of reach, catcher Tucker Barnhart pitched the ninth, giving up a run on three hits.