After a long, 10-game road trip, the Mets returned to Citi Field before their bats arrived.

The Mets opened a seven-game homestand quietly, getting shut out by the Nationals for a third straight loss, 5-0, in front of 20,507 on Tuesday night.

Jose Butto was wild, the top of the sixth inning was wacky and the Mets (14-10) failed to capitalize against the last-place Nationals (8-14).

The Mets finished with just five hits — only one after the fifth inning — and were silenced by New Rochelle native Josiah Gray, who struck out nine in six scoreless innings.

The Mets were down two by the third inning and never clawed their way back.

Their best threat came in the fifth, when a double from Brett Baty, an infield single from Francisco Alvarez and a walk from Brandon Nimmo loaded the bases with two outs.

But Starling Marte, who has started slowly, worked a full count against Gray before swinging over the top of a diving cutter, allowing Gray to escape.

Marte’s at-bat was the last time the Mets put a runner in scoring position. Gray and righty Mason Thompson faced the minimum from the sixth through the ninth.

Butto, who had not pitched in nine days and had been recalled earlier Tuesday, pitched as if he were feeling more rusty than rested.

Of the 93 pitches the righty threw, only 46 were strikes en route to walking six in 4 ²/₃ innings.

But despite the lack of control, he pitched well enough to keep the Mets afloat.

Butto allowed just two runs on four hits, doing his best work with runners on.

He limited the Nationals’ lineup to 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position and filled in adequately for Max Scherzer, whose suspension prompted Butto to make the start.

Butto dug the hole in the second, when Keibert Ruiz drilled a home run to center field, and made it larger in the third, when the 25-year-old walked a pair before Joey Meneses drilled an RBI single to center.

The Mets still had a pulse until the sixth inning, which could have been over after three batters.

The third, Alex Call, hit a ball up the middle that looked like a double-play ball that would have been the second and third outs.

But second baseman Luis Guillorme broke up the middle, only for the ball to bounce off the mound and toward right field, Guillorme lifting his hands in confusion.

Jimmy Yacabonis, a New Jersey native making his home debut, had to then face five more batters and the Nationals gained separation.

The next batter, Luis Garcia, might have struck out on a check-swing call that manager Buck Showalter wanted but did not get.

Given another chance, Garcia knocked a two-run double to right-center. Joey Meneses followed with an RBI single, and a 2-0 game had become a 5-0 game.

The bulge would prove inconsequential because the Mets’ offense never threatened.

The Mets, who beat up the Nationals in winning 14 of 19 last season, have begun this year 0-for-1 against Washington.