NEW YORK -- The most impressive series sweep of the season for the Arizona Diamondbacks came too late to save their playoff hopes. But it might have sent the New York Mets spiraling into a hole from which they won't be able to emerge.

Braden Shipley threw seven shutout innings in his best start as a major leaguer on Thursday afternoon, when the Diamondbacks completed a thorough three-game sweep of the Mets with a 9-0 rout at Citi Field.

The Diamondbacks (48-66) outscored the Mets 17-5 in the three games, during which they trailed in just two of the 30 innings and stole a whopping 13 bases. That was a team record for a series of any length for Arizona, which stole 10 bases in a four-game series against the then-Florida Marlins in May 2009.

"I think we were just aggressive - we got in good situations, the score allowed us to do that a lot," Diamondbacks manager Chip Hale said. "If you're down three, four, five runs early in the game, it's tough to do that. So obviously our starting pitching is the key, as we saw. Getting off the field, keeping us in the game, it allows us to do a lot of things offensively."

The Mets have not been able to do much, offensively or otherwise, for more than a month. New York (57-57), which has five Opening Day starters on the disabled list, has gone 10-19 since July 8, a stretch in which it has been outscored 114-87. The 87 runs are the fewest of any major league club in that span.

The 13 stolen bases allowed set a team record for the most thefts surrounded in a three-game series. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Mets gave up 12 steals to the Chicago Cubs during a series in April 1990.

Mets manager Terry Collins appeared to have seen enough Thursday, when his post-game press conference consisted of a 3 1/2-minute monologue in which his voice was raised almost the entire time.

"I don't care who's not here, there are no excuses here - these are Major League Baseball players," Collins said. "When you come (here), what you do, what you owe (is) a responsibility to the fans, our fanbase, the organization and to yourself to respect this game, to come out and grind it out, whether it's hot or whether it's freezing cold. That's where it's got to start."

After Collins stormed off the podium, the Mets' locker room remained closed for a team meeting until 3:33 PM - 29 minutes after the final out was recorded.

"He's the manager of the team," utilityman Kelly Johnson said. "He can speak his mind and get out what he wants to get out. I think we have a good group of guys that can take it and learn from it, to hear it and get better and use it."

Shipley and Mets right-hander Noah Syndergaard traded zeroes until the fourth, when Shipley's RBI single capped a three-run outburst. Socrates Brito (double) and Tuffy Gosewich (triple) had run-scoring hits earlier in the inning.

The Diamondbacks piled on with six runs in the sixth, when Gosewich hit a leadoff homer, Jean Segura scored on a wild pitch and Chris Owings (3-for-5) laced a three-run triple before he came home on a sacrifice fly by Brandon Drury.

Shipley (2-1), who was making his fourth big league start, became the second straight Diamondbacks starter to throw seven shutout innings of three-hit ball. Robbie Ray preceded Shipley on Wednesday while Zack Greinke allowed three runs over six innings in Tuesday's opener.

"I thought we played well as a team in all aspects this series," Gosewich said. "I don't think we've done that too often, where we pitched well, hit well, run the bases aggressively. So that was a lot of run to see."

Syndergaard (9-7) allowed three runs on eight hits and one walk while striking out six over five innings. He has not won in his last six starts.

The Mets, who fell three games behind the St. Louis Cardinals and the idle Miami Marlins in the race for the National League's second wild card, got just two runners into scoring position as they dropped to .500 for the first time since April 20.

"We're back fresh, starting tomorrow," Collins said. "And those who don't want to get after it, I will find somebody else who does. Because in (Triple-A) Las Vegas, there's a whole clubhouse filled with guys who want to be in this room. And I'll find them.

"That's all I've got to say. I'm done."

NOTES: Diamondbacks OF Yasmany Tomas (stiff neck) missed his third straight game. ... Arizona OF David Peralta (right wrist) underwent season-ending surgery Thursday to stabilize a tendon. He was injured running into a wall last Friday. ... Mets 2B Neil Walker went 1-for-3 to extend his hitting streak to a season-high nine games, during which he is hitting .459 (17-for-37). ... The Mets have not been under .500 since April 17, when they were 5-6.