Zack Wheeler put together one of his best starts in nearly four years Wednesday and was left talking about another frustrating day at Citi Field.

So it goes for the Mets, who have now posted a 2.36 ERA from their starters over the past 18 games and largely wasted it with an anemic offense, going just 5-13 in that stretch. The latest strong outing came from Wheeler, who spun seven scoreless innings before the Orioles got to the bullpen in the eighth, as the Mets fell 1-0.

“I think that’s the goal every time, to go out and put up zeroes, no matter if we’re scoring 10 runs a game or zero,” Wheeler said. “Our job is to go out there and put up zeroes and just try to do our job the best we can.”

Throwing at least seven shutout frames for just the second time in his career, Wheeler struck out five, walked one, hit two batters and allowed only three hits. He was at 93 pitches and had a shot to pitch the eighth, but his spot came up in the bottom of the seventh with two out and two on, so Jose Bautista pinch-hit for him. To that point, Wheeler had actually recorded one of the Mets’ three hits.

Wheeler retired the final nine batters he faced in a row, only getting stronger as the day went on. He has done some of his best work this season facing a lineup the third time through, holding opponents to a .225 batting average in that split.

“That’s kind of always the way it works for me,” Wheeler said. “… Probably just because I get more tired and I don’t try to overthrow, so everything is a little more crisp and I’m hitting my spots a little bit more.”

While Wednesday marked Wheeler’s first scoreless start since 2014 — with Tommy John surgery in between — the 28-year-old has posted a 2.52 ERA over his last four starts as the Mets have found more consistency from the back end of their rotation. The only problem is that the Mets have not won any of those starts — a recurring trend, regardless of the starter.

“We’re a lot better team than we’re playing,” Wheeler said. “I’ve said that before and I keep saying it, because we are a better team than what we’re playing. The record doesn’t show for it, but I think we’ll come around.”