Too many times, Bryce Harper has been a one-man gang this season

The theme of Bryce Harper displaying another dominant performance but the Nationals falling short once again played out in last night's dismal 5-3 loss to the Mets.

Harper jumpstarted the Nationals offense early, ripping Jacob deGrom's heater over the wall in right for a two-out solo home run. According to ESPN Stats & Info, the 97.3 mph fastball was the fastest pitch Harper has ever homered against.

After the Mets tied it up in the second, Harper answered back with a leadoff double smashed to the right-center gap in the fourth. Two batters later, Clint Robinson slapped a single to left, bringing Harper across the plate as the Nats regained the lead.

The rest of the Nats offense basically went to sleep at that point as deGrom rolled through the next three frames. Kelly Johnson batted for deGrom to start the eight and evened the score with a pinch-hit solo homer off Stephen Strasburg. Then Drew Storen surrendered a devastating two-run bomb to Yoenis Cespedes.

Again, Harper responded. With two outs in the eighth and the bases empty, Harper unloaded on former teammate Tyler Clippard, pulverizing a fastball into the second deck in right to pull the Nats back within one. That was as close as they got.

Harper finished 3-for-4 with two home runs, a double, two RBIs and three runs scored. It was the ninth multi-homer game of Harper's career and the fourth this season, tied for third in the National League.

"The kid's showtime," Ian Desmond said. "He rises to the occasion. It's fun to kind of watch his maturity over the last few years. He's turned into quite the beast."

Harper's 36 home runs are tied for second best in the NL, one back of Colorado's Nolan Arenado. But like last night, most of his longball damage has come with the bases empty. Twenty-three of the 36 homers are solo shots.

While Harper has lived on base throughout the season - reaching safely in 121 of the 132 games he's played this season - the Nationals lineup has been either injured or terribly inconsistent in front of him.

Despite leading the NL in batting average (.336), on-base percentage (.467), slugging percentage (.657) and OPS (1.124), Harper has fallen far down the list for RBIs.

At the All-Star break, Harper was still threatening for a possible Triple Crown with his 61 RBIs, fourth best at the time, nine behind Arizona's Paul Goldschmidt and Arenado.

You'll have to keep scrolling down to find Harper tied for 41st with 24 RBIs since the Midsummer Classic. Since Harper went on his 13-homer, 28-RBI tear in May, teams have just pitched around him, simply forfeiting a base and choosing to deal with the rest of the unpredictable batting order.

"You can cry over spilled milk, but having guys injured and out of the lineup, the guys that generally hit in front of him, puts him at a disadvantage in that regard," manager Matt Williams said last night. "To his credit, he's stayed the course and done really well, regardless of the situation. Again, he continues to swing the bat very well for us."

Harper hit just two home runs and drove in only nine runs in August while the Nats went 12-17, losing their first-place lead in the NL East.

Through nine game in September, Harper seems poised to finish on a torrid pace. The 22-year-old slugger is slashing .444/.590/1.148 with five homers, four doubles, 11 walks and eight RBIs.

"We just got to keep rolling," Harper said. "Keep trying to play games. Keep having fun and enjoy the season. Really just come in every single day with a plan to win ballgames. Just gotta grind it out to the end, and when it's over, it's over. We just gotta keep playing the game's we're doing. We got (23) left, and we gotta play every game like it's our last."