Five games into his tenure as manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Don Kelly has shown a willingness to shuffle the deck, making various lineup and batting order alterations in hope of facilitating a change in fortune for his club.

But Kelly ultimately is dealing with the same deck of cards as Derek Shelton, fired Thursday.

In a 2-1 road loss at Citi Field on Tuesday against the New York Mets, Kelly was faced with a similarly disappointing offensive performance that his predecessor had become accustomed to, as the Pirates went 0 for 13 with runners in scoring position, stranding 12 men on base.

All five games of Kelly’s tenure as manager so far have been one-run affairs, with the Pirates going 2-3.

“You know what? Honestly, the way we’re competing right now, the way we’re going after it — yes, we need to get the runs in when they’re on third (base), but it’s not for lack of effort on these guys’ part,” Kelly said on the SportsNet Pittsburgh postgame show.

“Going out there, we need to find a way to do it. When we get a pitch to hit, make it happen. The frustration on my end is, yes, not getting those runs in. But nobody feels worse than the players do in that situation.”

Mitch Keller put together one of his sharpest outings of the season, recording a season-high eight strikeouts while allowing two runs over seven innings with one walk.

However, with two outs in the seventh, Keller gave up an opposite-field solo shot to Brett Baty, which lifted the Mets to a series-clinching victory.

Keller (1-5, 4.15 ERA) threw 65 of his 96 pitches for strikes.

The Pirates (14-29) will look to avoid a sweep in New York on Wednesday.

Ample scoring opportunities presented themselves against Mets starter Kodai Senga, but the Pirates couldn’t capitalize, going 0 for 9 with runners in scoring position through his 5 2⁄3 innings.

The Pirates managed to put runners on second and third with one out in the ninth against Mets closer Edwin Diaz. However, Bryan Reynolds struck out looking, and Joey Bart grounded out to end the game.

“(Our pitchers) have given us a chance to win all season long, and I think the at-bats have been better as a team the past couple days,” catcher Henry Davis said. “Timely hitting’s important. We were 0 for 13 with runners in scoring position. Obviously, those are the things we’ve got to come through with and pick those guys up. When they give us that type of performance on the mound, you’re dying to score for them.”

Senga took a no-decision, allowing one run (charged to him but allowed by reliever Reed Garrett) on six hits while striking out seven with a pair of walks.

The Mets did not wait long to jump out in front, as Brandon Nimmo put his club up 1-0 with a two-out RBI double in the bottom of the first, plating Juan Soto, who singled and stole second.

Keller struck out Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso in the frame but left a 2-2 changeup elevated to Nimmo, who made him pay.

The Pirates stranded Ke’Bryan Hayes in the second after a one-out triple and left two men on in the third after Davis singled and Adam Frazier doubled.

A similar opportunity emerged in the fourth after Bart walked and Hayes singled, putting runners on first and third with no outs. But Senga struck out Alexander Canario, Jared Triolo and Ji Hwan Bae to escape the frame.

In the fifth, Frazier walked and reached third base, but Reynolds, who remains mired in an elongated slump, flew out to end the inning.

Threatening again in the sixth, the Pirates chased Senga from the game after 5 ⅔ innings, when a double by Triolo advanced Canario, who singled, to third.

Triolo’s double down the third-base line ripped through the stitching of Lindor’s glove, and Garrett promptly walked Bae to load the bases for Davis, the No. 9 hitter.

Davis found himself in an 0-2 hole but battled back to draw a walk, scoring Canario and tying the score.

The bases remained loaded for Frazier, who dueled Garrett for eight pitches but grounded out to first base to end the frame.

In the bottom of the sixth, Keller continued dealing, getting through the inning in 11 pitches.

Keller was cruising in the seventh, recording two quick outs, when Baty connected on a 1-1 changeup that he sent over the left-field wall.

“Pitch mix, movement in and out — he did an unbelievable job,” Kelly said of Keller. “Really great job by him.”

Hayes and Canario were both 2 for 4.

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