Author: MLB Baseball News, Scores, Standings, Rumors, Fantasy Games

The Mets face the Marlins at Citi Field on Wednesday at 1:10 p.m. on SNY.

Here's what to know about the game and how to watch...

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Mets Notes

• Pete Alonso is slashing .333/.447/.692 with three home runs and five doubles in 47 plate appearances over 11 games this season
• The Mets' team ERA of 2.02 is the lowest in baseball
• Juan Soto has reached base safely in all 11 regular season games, including three times on Tuesday. His OPS is .925.
• After going hitless in the Mets' season-opening three-game series against the Astros,Francisco Lindoris on a seven-game hitting streak

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Here's what happened in Mets Land on Monday, in case you missed it...

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• Kodai Senga tossed 5.0 scoreless innings and the Mets' offense did just enough during Monday's 2-0 win over the Marlins at Citi Field
• Juan Sotowent 2-for-3 with an RBI double and a walk. His OPS is up to .904
• Francisco Lindor had three hits, including the 1,500th of his career
• New York's pitching remained dominant
• Tuesday's game was shifted to 4:10 p.m. because of expected frigid weather at night
• David Stearns discussedBrett Baty and Luisangel Acuña's early-season offensive struggles
• Stearns also talked about a Mets bullpen that has been dominant
• What is the plan for pitching prospect Matt Allan following his inspiring comeback?
• WATCH: Carlos Mendoza and Lindor weighed in on the Mets' fifth win in a row
• WATCH: Ryne Stanek and Senga discussed the pitching staff's success

The New York Rangers’ playoff hopes continue to dwindle as they lost 5-1 to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday night. 

Going into this matchup, the Rangers were six points out of the second wild-card spot, so a win was absolutely necessary. 

Despite a strong start, the Rangers quickly ran into trouble. 

Tampa Bay scored three goals in the span of 1:42 seconds in the first period with the Rangers committing two penalties. 

After 20 minutes of play, the Rangers trailed 3-0 and were booed off of the ice by the fans. 

In the second period, the Blueshirts showed some signs of life and Mika Zibanejad struck gold on the power play, cutting the Lightning’s lead to 3-1. 

However, in the final frame, the Rangers committed two more penalties, resulting in Brayden Point’s second power-play goal. 

It doesn't matter if the Rangers had some pushback through parts of the game, they made one too many mistakes early on in the contest and put themselves in an insurmountable hole to climb out of. 

“The last eight or nine minutes is where we lost the game tonight,” Peter Laviolette said. 

The Rangers are a fragile team and that was on full display tonight. When one thing goes wrong, the Blueshirts seem to panic and everything spirals out of control. 

It’s also hard to win a game after committing five penalties. These mistakes that the Rangers continually make whether it’s the defensive breakdowns, sloppy turnovers, or careless penalties are simply unacceptable. 

The mood around the team is demoralizing. The post game press conferences are beginning to get shorter and shorter. From Laviolette to the players to the reporters, everybody is running out of things to say. 

The Rangers also realize that time is running out to turn things around. Reality is staring them straight in the face. 

“It's terrible... If we keep playing like that, we’re going to miss the playoffs,” Artemi Panarin said.

The Rangers will be back in action on Wednesday night against the Philadelphia Flyers.

Mets star Francisco Lindor joined an exclusive club during Monday's night 2-0 win over the Miami Marlins, recording the 1,500th hit of his MLB career.

Lindor singled on a line drive to left field against Marlins' Tyler Phillips in the bottom of the fifth inning, giving him three hits on the night and bringing his career total to the milestone number.

The shortstop recorded 896 hits over 777 games during his six years in Cleveland, and has totaled 604 hits over 607 games with the Mets in four-plus seasons.

"It means I've been in the big leagues for 10 years plus," Lindor joked after the game. "It's special, it's definitely special. I'm blessed, I'm blessed to be in the position I'm in.

"I've been blessed to be surrounded by a lot of good coaches, a lot of good hitting coaches, a lot of teammates that help me and give me good scouting reports and help me be successful in this league. I'm very appreciative of the moment and everybody that's contributed to my journey, but I'm just happy we won today."

Francisco Lindor is 3-for-3! pic.twitter.com/1UmAjWyVZQ

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 8, 2025

Hit #1️⃣5️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ for Francisco Lindor! pic.twitter.com/f1xQwu7bVt

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) April 8, 2025

He has a long ways to go to reach Yankees legend Derek Jeter's all-time total among shortstops at 3,465 hits, but is now the 24th active MLB player with 1,500 career hits. Freddie Freeman has the most among active player with 2,270 hits, and Mets teammate Starling Marte is tied for 18th with Jason Heyward at 1,562 hits.

Based on Lindor's career average of 175 hits per season, he'd need to reach that mark for eight more seasons and then get another 100 hits to get 3,000 career hits.

After the win, Lindor was asked about the thought of playing another decade and what that would mean for his career, including the possibility of making the Hall of Fame.

"No... it does go to a place where it's like, 'Wow, this is a cool moment,'" Lindor said. "But you just got to continue to put your head down and climb the mountain, you can't let it get too big."

"I would love to be there one day, but it's still very far for me," Lindor said on making the HOF. "I look at a guy like Carlos Beltran that has twice the numbers I have today and he's not in there right now and I think he should be a Hall of Famer. You have guys like Jimmy Rollins that I think should also be in the Hall of Fame, yet they're not in it. For me the Hall of Fame is still far-fetched. I would love to be there one day, it would be one of the biggest honors, if not the biggest, of my career, but still a long way to go."

Beltran missed out on the Hall earlier this year, his third year on the ballot. The outfielder with 2,745 hits and 435 HRs received 70.3 percent of the votes, just shy of the 75 percent of the vote required to enter. Rollins totaled 2,455 hits and won the NL MVP in 2007 and a World Series title in 2008, among other accolades. He got 14.8 percent of the vote this year and has increased his total each year over his three years on the ballot.

Regardless if Lindor makes the Hall one day or not, the 31-year-old is focused on helping this Mets team win early in the season -- especially compared to 2024's 0-5 start.

"It's way better than last year," Lindor said. "Winning brings teams together, as well as losing, but most of the time winning brings teams together. You can feel the vibes. Even though we had fantastic vibes during spring training, you can tell guys are in a much better place today than they were in the middle of spring training. This month you got to grind, it's cold, it's not fun. You got to get it done.

"And to be able to win games, close games, it says a lot about our pitching staff and a lot about our defense and our hitters... We're winning the games, but we're playing good baseball. That's what I care about."

The Mets’ pitching staff continues leading the way early on. 

On Monday night, it was Kodai Senga’s turn and he battled through some cold weather to put together five strong innings of work facing a Marlins lineup he saw just six days ago in his first outing of the season. 

As was the case in that meeting, Senga fell into some trouble in the first inning after allowing a walk and a single to the first two batters, but this time he was able to escape the threat with some help from Hayden Senger’s first career caught stealing. 

The right-hander made some adjustments and settled into a groove from there -- before he was faced with some traffic in both the fourth and the fifth -- but he used a pair of double plays balls to again dance his way out of danger. 

Overall, he allowed two walks and five hits while striking out four in five shutout frames.

“That first inning I could tell they did their homework,” Senga said through a translator. “They researched me up pretty good -- but we had a good gameplan tonight, Senger did a good job calling the game and we had good results.”

Carlos Mendoza said he probably could’ve returned to the mound for the sixth, but with it still being so early in the season, he decided to turn things over to the bullpen. 

Danny Young entered and worked around a leadoff single in the sixth, before Jose Butto stepped up with two scoreless innings of work, and then Ryne Stanek slammed the door shut with his first save as a Met. 

With four more scoreless innings, the bullpen now has a league-best 1.13 ERA on the season. 

“It’s very much pass the ball off to the next guy and keep the line moving,” Stanek said. “Guys just see the guy in front of them doing their job and don’t want to be the one that doesn’t -- guys are throwing the ball good, attacking the zone and just getting after it.” 

And it’s not just the bullpen who has been getting the job done.

The starters haven’t been working deep into games in the early going, but they’ve still been putting together terrific results of their own -- the 1.72 team ERA is the second-best produced through the first 10 games of the season in franchise history.

“It’s a combination of a lot of things,” Carlos Mendoza said. “But I said it before the game, it’s contagious, it’s like hitting -- they’re feeling pretty good about themselves right now. They know that they have each others back and that’s a good feeling as a unit.”

The Mets recorded their fifth straight win, defeating the Miami Marlins 2-0 on Monday night at Citi Field.

Here are some takeaways...

- Kodai Senga got the start against the same Marlins lineup he faced just six days ago, and he threw well. As was the case in that outing, Senga fell into immediate trouble when the first two batters reached on a walk and a hit -- but he got out of the jam this time with some help from Hayden Senger's first career caught stealing.

Senga settled into a groove from there, leaning on his fastball to pick up his first two punchouts in the second, and then generating another with the forkball in the third. Miami was able to get something going with back-to-back singles in the fourth, but a 4-6-3 double play quickly erased the threat.

Graham Pauley led off the fifth with a single, but Senga again rolled a double play before ending his night with another punch out. The right-hander threw the same number of pitches as his last time out (77) and he allowed just five hits while walking three and striking out five across five scoreless innings.

- The Mets' bullpen continues getting the job done behind their starters this season. Danny Young came in first and worked around a leadoff infield single in the bottom of the sixth, then Jose Butto threw two scoreless innings, before Ryne Stanek finished off his first save as a Met.

Even with on nights with some of their top arms unavailable, this group continues getting big outs.

- Francisco Lindor has quickly settled into a groove after a bit of a slow start at the plate. The All-Star shortstop led off the game with a bloop single, reached on a perfectly placed bunt single in the third, and then picked up the 1,500th hit of his career with another single in the fifth.

Lindor pushed his hitting streak to six and it was the fourth straight game he led off the first with a knock.

- Lindor also scored New York's first run of the game on Juan Soto's double in the bottom of the third. Soto was due to come up with a big hit for this squad sooner or later -- he reached base three times and is now riding a six-game hitting streak.

- Tyrone Taylor hasn't played much of late but he was back in the lineup tonight and took advantage of the opportunity -- finishing 2-for-4 with a pair of singles, one of which drove in the pinch running Jose Siri for a massive insurance run in the bottom of the eighth.

- Pete Alonso continues swinging a hot bat, reaching base two more times with a single and scorcher double off the left-field fence. The big man is now hitting .314 with three doubles, three homers, and a 1.086 OPS through 10 games this season.

- Mark Vientos has been struggling, but he put together some better at-bats in this one. He showed more patience as he drew three walks and was robbed of a run-scoring hit on a terrific sliding grab by Marlins LF Griffin Conine in the third.

- The Mets remain undefeated at home and have won five consecutive games.

Game MVP(s): The pitching (again!)

What more can be said, the Mets' pitching continues leading the way for them early on this season.

Highlights

Francisco Lindor makes the tag, Otto Lopez comes off the bag and he's caught stealing! pic.twitter.com/rot0r4hCaC

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 7, 2025

Two strikeouts in the second inning for Kodai Senga 🔥 pic.twitter.com/mYILFeqA0n

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 7, 2025

Juan Soto with an RBI double that scores Francisco Lindor! 💪 pic.twitter.com/HcWPgZl8qQ

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 8, 2025

Francisco Lindor is 3-for-3! pic.twitter.com/1UmAjWyVZQ

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 8, 2025

José Buttó picks off Dane Myers! pic.twitter.com/6O7xjSCUPr

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 8, 2025

A double off the wall for Pete Alonso 🐻‍❄️ pic.twitter.com/8yYsPfsJmr

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 8, 2025

Whats next

Clay Holmes (0-1, 2.89 ERA) makes his first Citi Field start as he continues the series with the Marlins on Tuesday at 4:10 p.m.

Defensive miscues cost the Dodgers two runs on Monday. Stellar defense from the Washington Nationals prevented two, if not more.

In the Dodgers’ 6-4 loss at Nationals Park to open a three-game series, that proved to be the biggest difference. And, with the team having lost three of their last four games, it reinforced what is fast becoming a disconcerting early-season theme.

As was the story in this past weekend’s series defeat to the Philadelphia Phillies, when defensive breakdowns and baserunning blunders ended the team’s 8-0 start to the season, the Dodgers continued to struggle with the fundamentals on Monday, digging an early hole from which they never fully recovered — even on a night Shohei Ohtani came up a double short of the cycle.

Read more:Dodgers celebrated at White House for 2024 World Series title by Trump

With two on and one out in the top of the second, Mookie Betts let a hard-hit one-hopper blaze by him at shortstop, misjudging a low bounce on an error that allowed an unearned run to score.

“I missed it,” Betts said. “Whether it hopped up or stayed down, doesn’t matter.”

With two outs, Miguel Rojas booted a more routine grounder at second base, resulting in yet another error and unearned run.

“Defensively today, we gave them a lot of chances for them to score some runs,” Rojas said. “So we gotta clean that up.”

The Nationals’ defense, on the other hand, twice took away hits that doused potentially dangerous Dodgers rallies.

In the top of the third, Max Muncy was robbed of extra bases on a diving catch in right field by Alex Call — just three batters before Ohtani whacked a two-run homer that otherwise would have scored three.

In the fifth, Rojas was denied a hit when shortstop Paul DeJong made a diving stop deep in the hole — just two batters before Ohtani laced a triple that would have brought him home, but instead was wasted in a scoreless inning.

Then, as the Dodgers tried to rally from a 6-4 deficit in the ninth, a leadoff double from Muncy was followed by a diving stop on a Hunter Feduccia ground ball from Nationals second baseman Luis García Jr., likely saving yet another run as the Nationals sewed up a series-opening win.

“It just seems like each night there's some things fundamentally that, we're just not playing clean baseball,” manager Dave Roberts said. “Giving teams extra outs or giving up outs on the bases, or whatever it might be.”

Opposing teams’ defense, of course, is out of the Dodgers’ control.

But their own repeated mistakes have emerged as a growing source of frustration in this campaign’s opening weeks.

The Dodgers (9-3) have committed seven errors, all within the last six games. They have yielded 10 unearned runs, most in the majors. They have even struggled to slow the running game, giving up steals on all 12 attempts by their opponents so far, including three to the Nationals (4-6) on Monday.

“We need to clean some things up on all sides of the ball,” Muncy said. “We know we're better than what we've been playing.”

“We expect the best out of us every single day, and it's supposed to be good every single day,” Rojas added. “But I mean, it happens. We have to keep working on it … We gotta pay attention to details a little bit more.”

Some of this was to be expected. Betts is still reacclimating to shortstop after his three-month cameo there last year. A primary outfield alignment of Michael Conforto, Teoscar Hernández and Andy Pages (who got a day off Monday amid his season-opening slump, even with left-handed MacKenzie Gore on the mound) is not exactly a full-proof defensive unit.

And generally, this year’s Dodgers’ lineup was built with offense as the primary consideration; helping them rank top-five in scoring, and second in home runs, even though they’ve been without Freddie Freeman (who remains on the injured list with an ankle injury) for all but three games.

But on Monday, their bats couldn’t bail them out.

The Dodgers (9-3) managed just two runs over six innings against Gore, who racked up seven strikeouts while yielding five hits. They scored twice in the eighth, but stranded the potential tying runs when Kiké Hernández struck out to end the inning. Then, in the ninth, they couldn’t do anything with Muncy’s leadoff double, even with Nationals closer Kyle Finnegan going for a five-out save on his third-straight day of pitching.

To make matters worse, their best moment of defensive excellence — when center fielder Tommy Edman threw out a runner at home in the seventh — came in an inning the Nationals (4-6) scored three other times off relievers Anthony Banda and Matt Sauer.

“If you lose a couple games and you don't play clean baseball, you look back at a game and you say, 'We could have done this, or that might have changed the outcome,’” Roberts said. “There's still some good things that happened tonight. ... But yeah, I just think in totality, the bar, the standard, is pretty high for our club. And I know they feel the same."

It all overshadowed Ohtani’s monstrous night at the plate, which included an infield single in the first, his two-run blast to the right-field bullpen in the third, the fifth-inning triple that hit off the top of the wall in center, plus a walk in the ninth one at-bat before Betts grounded out to end the game.

Read more:Pitching and defensive struggles prove costly as Dodgers drop series to Phillies

It also left starting pitcher Dustin May with a tough-luck loss, having given up just one earned run in a six-inning outing that — after some early command issues led to three walks that compounded the defensive miscues — saw him retire the last 11 batters he faced.

“We just gotta continue to come every single day and clean those things up,” Rojas said. “Hopefully we can start getting better overall, and not just waiting for the miracle to happen in the last couple innings. I think we’re gonna clean it up a little bit more defensively and on the bases, and we all know that.”

Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

The Mets have announced that Tuesday’s game against the Miami Marlins at Citi Field has been bumped up to a 4:10 p.m. first pitch due to weather. 

Gates will open at 3:10 p.m. and all tickets for the originally scheduled 7:10 p.m. start will be valid for the 4:10 p.m. game.

Right-hander Clay Holmes (0-1, 2.89 ERA) is scheduled to make his first home start as a Met against Connor Gillispie (0-1, 3.60 ERA).  

Holmes was terrific during spring training, but he has been a bit shaky over his first two starts of the season, allowing a combined six walks and 11 hits in just 9.1 innings of work.

Lee embracing Oracle Park, Giants fans' quirks on, off field originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO — Oracle Park is just as quirky and unique as the city it occupies.

Giants fans not only embrace a player’s individuality, but celebrate it in a fun, cult-like manner only they know how. Long gone are the days of Pablo Sandoval panda hats and Brian Wilson beards filling the stands at Third & King – although you still will see some every now and again — but that same quirkiness has manifested itself again with one of the Giants’ most exciting and marketable players: Jung Hoo Lee.

The 26-year-old’s rookie 2024 campaign was cut short due to a serious shoulder injury he sustained in May last year, but through 10 games in 2025, Lee has picked up right where he left off and is playing like the do-it-all star he was in the KBO before he signed a six-year, $113 million contract with San Francisco in December 2023.

And Giants fans are champing at the bit to embrace him.

Lee made two impressive sliding catches in the first and fifth innings of San Francisco’s 2-0 loss to the Cincinnati Reds on Monday at Oracle Park, which excited a group of Giants fans that call themselves the “Hoo Lee Gans,” a play on “hooligans.”

Webby and the Jung Hoo fans were loving this catch by Lee 🔥 pic.twitter.com/lAcMINFOnM

— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) April 8, 2025

Jung Hoo Lee did it again 👏 pic.twitter.com/UvmMJCS4V2

— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) April 8, 2025

The new fan club, along with the “Jung Hoo Crew” in section 142, are not alone in expressing their support for Lee, whose name has been turned into a loud chant every time he walks to the plate.

Lee still is just 46 games into his Giants career, and while he felt the love immediately upon his arrival last season, he has appreciated even more support in his sophomore campaign.

“I didn’t play too much [last season], but coming in here right now, I can feel that the love from the fans is amazing right now,” Lee said through interpreter Justin Han postgame.

The Giants, and their fans, likely are just scratching the surface of finding ways to celebrate the former KBO star, and Lee’s teammates are loving every minute of it.

“It’s great. I keep seeing the thing about the fight song. Hopefully everyone learns that. I haven’t learned it yet. Hopefully they play it in the crowd,” Giants pitcher Logan Webb told reporters postgame.

“It was kind of the same thing before Jung Hoo got here, we saw Ha-Seong Kim kind of be embraced in San Diego and when they started yelling ‘Ha. Seong. Kim.,’ it got loud.”

Oracle Park, as many have learned over the years, both can giveth and taketh away, and Lee still is adjusting to his new ballpark’s frustrating quirks.

Lee was a modest 1-for-4 at the plate on Monday night, but the box score did not tell the complete story. Three of the four balls Lee hit had exit velocities of at least 102.3 mph, with the hardest-hit ball of the night, a fly-out in the bottom of the sixth inning that nearly left the yard and gave the Giants a 2-0 lead, registering an exit velocity of 103.7 mph.

Lee, and just about everyone at Oracle Park, thought the ball was headed for the right-center field seats. As did the Korean broadcast, which produced a hilarious call that even non-Korean-speaking Giants fans can relate to.

They thought it’s a homer for Jung Hoo #Lee (Korean call😂) pic.twitter.com/RolQlKvpDW

— Joseph Kim (@blackwings2011) April 8, 2025

“Yeah, I felt it was going to go over, but the wind was blowing in, so we can’t do anything about the environment,” Lee said postgame.

That, as Lee is learning the hard way, is called getting “Oracle’d.”

It’s one of the ballpark’s multiple quirks that both Giants and visiting players are aware of, but still bemoan every time a hard-hit ball dies on the warning track.

“Offensively, defensively, I’m still getting used to Oracle Park,” Lee said of his adjustments to the ballpark. “I didn’t get to play a lot last season, so I’m still at that progression where I’m getting more used to it right now.”

While Lee’s adjustment period remains ongoing, that wouldn’t appear to be the case just by watching him play.

“Jung Hoo is playing great baseball, he’s running well, he’s getting good jumps, he’s playing great defense, he’s swinging the bat,” Giants manager Bob Melvin said postgame. “He’s playing really well.”

“He’s only scratching the surface of his abilities,” Webb added. “It’s fun for all of us to watch, because it’s a pleasure to see him keep getting better.”

If Lee really is just “scratching the surface,” Giants fans should have no issues finding ways to embrace and celebrate one of the game’s most unique players this season and for years to come.

Download and follow the Giants Talk Podcast

President of baseball operations David Stearns discussed two of the Mets’ young talents while speaking to reporters prior to Monday’s series opener at Citi Field…

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Mets ‘still believe’ in Parada

Kevin Parada has gotten off to a bit of a dreadful start during his pro career. 

The young backstop was a force for George Tech and he was viewed as one of the top hitting prospects in the 2022 Draft before landing with New York at the 11th overall pick -- but he hasn’t quite been able to carry over that production with the organization.

Parada’s been brutal at the plate the past three seasons, and he was even worse last year -- hitting just .214 while popping 30 extra base-hits and striking out 153 times for Double-A Binghamton. 

He’s also been brutal defensively, throwing out just 20 percent of attempted base stealers.

The 23-year-old worked this offseason to get into better shape and make some changes to his swing and he saw some better results in a small sample size at big-league camp, reaching base three times across eight at-bats.  

Parada will begin the year back with Binghamton -- and while he isn’t viewed as big-league depth just yet -- Stearns insists that they have faith in his potential moving forward. 

“Kevin’s had some ups and downs since he’s been drafted, but we still believe in the player — he worked really hard over the offseason and came into camp in really good shape. We still like the player and we’re looking forward to seeing how his year goes.”

The plan for Matt Allan’s return

Allan has had incredibly tough luck since joining the organization. 

The right-hander was viewed one of the Mets’ top pitching prospects after falling into their laps in the third round of the 2019 Draft -- but he’s battled numerous arm issues and hasn’t taken the mound in game action since then. 

Allan worked this offseason and is finally back and ready to roll. 

He made his first appearance in nearly six years on Sunday afternoon with the Single-A St. Lucie Mets and fared extremely well -- allowing just two hits while walking one and striking out five across 2.2 innings of work. 

The results are certainly encouraging, but more importantly, the Mets are happy to see the 23-year-old back out there on the mound. 

“Given everything Matt’s gone through, every time he takes the ball we’re happy,” Stearns said. “He deserves to be happy and he deserves to enjoy it. He threw the other night, let’s get to the next one and then after that let’s get to the next one and we’ll go from there.

“What I will say is what he is doing right now is really impressive. He is demonstrating why he was so sought after in the draft, and why he has kept pushing so hard for the last five years to get back to this point.”

Given his age, Allan could be moved through the system relatively quickly based on how his performances go, but the biggest focus will be on keeping him healthy. 

Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns discussed a number of different topics prior to Monday’s series opener against the Marlins. 

Here are some of the key takeaways…

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Baty and Acuña’s struggles 

With Jeff McNeil remaining sidelined due to an oblique injury suffered late in camp, the Mets have been forced to lean on the duo of Brett Baty and Luisangel Acuña at second base in the early going.

While they’ve stepped up defensively, they haven’t quite seen the same success at the plate.  

Baty appeared to be on the strong side of the platoon after his monster showing in spring training, but he’s lost out on playing time of late as he’s been stuck in a brutal 2-for-21 stretch over his first seven appearances. 

Acuña hasn’t exactly been tearing the cover off the ball either, going 2-for-14 with a double. 

McNeil recently began swinging a bat as he begins his progression towards a return -- but with him still a couple of weeks away, Stearns would love to see one or both of them step up with the opportunity in front of them. 

“That’s what someone like Mark Vientos did last year,” he said. “When he got an opportunity and he solidified a spot at the major league level, you’d love to see that from young players. I also understand that it can’t always happen at the exact moment we want it to. 

“And for both of these guys, if one of them does find their way back to the minors at when we get fully healthy, there are going to be other opportunities. We know that they will find their way back to the big leagues and they’ll get another shot. But I’d love to see one or both of them perform at a high level before we have to make those decisions.”

Acuña is starting against right-hander Valente Bellozo on Monday night. 

Vientos’ struggles

Speaking of Vientos, he’s also gotten off to a dreadful start at the plate. 

After breaking out last year and showcasing his game-changing power so often during the playoffs, the youngster hasn’t quite been able to tap into that, producing just two extra base-hits through 34 at-bats. 

Other than that, he has just two other hits and has struck out eight times. 

Vientos was expected to help serve as one of the big-time run producers in the middle of this lineup after they added Juan Soto and brought back Pete Alonso, however, we haven’t quite seen that from him yet.  

Still, Stearns is confident he’ll be able to turn things around. 

“He’s off to a rough start,” Stearns said. “It was good to see him get a knock yesterday -- he will snap out of this, clearly he isn’t performing at the level we saw from him last year and he’s not performing at the level he wants, but the talent is still in there. 

“He’s still a really good hitter, he’s got a ton of power. We probably just have to get him back to swinging at a few more strikes and I think we will.”

The bullpen’s hot start

On the other hand, one of the biggest bright spots thus far has been the Mets’ bullpen. 

Stearns has been famous for finding diamonds in the rough and building tremendous relief units over his years with the Brewers -- and he appears to have done it again in just his second season in the Big Apple. 

From Max Kranick and Huascar Brazoban to A.J. Minter and Edwin Diaz, each and every member of the bullpen has stepped and recorded big outs for this team over the first nine games of the season.

After Sunday’s tremendous performance, they have a league-best 1.29 ERA on the year. 

“We’ve needed them and they’ve performed at a very high level,” Stearns said. “Clearly we wouldn’t have the record we have right now without the contributions from every single member of that pen -- that’s probably been the most impressive part to me.”

They’ll also be receiving another big boost soon, as right-hander Dedniel Núñez continues working his way through his progression in the minors after being left off the big-league roster coming out of camp. 

He’s allowed three runs in four appearances, but the Mets are encouraged by how he’s looked. 

“The reports have been pretty good, he looks like Nuney,” he said. “We’re going through a pretty structured progression so that when he’s called up he has the ability to function as a full-go major league reliever, but the stuff has been good."

And don’t forget about Big Pete

Pete Alonso has also looked tremendous at the plate in the early going. 

With the rest of the Mets’ offense struggling to get into a groove, the big man has been locked in — picking up big hit after big hit when this team has needed it the most over the first nine games of the season. 

He’s has two doubles, three homers, 11 RBI, and a 1.066 OPS through 31 at-bats. 

“We’ve seen over the years that when Pete gets going, he can carry a team,” Stearns said. “It’s been fun to see him with some enormous home runs -- I think he’s enjoyed it. Hopefully it’s allowed him to take a little bit of a deep breathe and he’s earned it. 

“He loves playing here, our fans love watching him, and he’s been a huge part of our wins so far this season.”