Category: MLB

The Mets held on to beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 5-4, on Monday night to notch their fifth consecutive win.

Here are the takeaways...

-Leadoff Lindor struck again for the second game in a row as Francisco Lindor took Phillies starter Aaron Nola deep in his first at-bat. The 376-foot blast to right field gave New York a 1-0 lead which it's been getting accustomed to lately as Lindor has hit three leadoff home runs already this season.

The shortstop continues to thrive leading off the game and is now 10-for-21 with six extra-base hits in that spot. More on him later.

-The Mets got to Nola once again in the second as Jesse Winker jumped all over a 2-0 fastball for his first home run of the season and New York's second leadoff homer in two innings.

-The two runs would be all Tylor Megill needed as the right-hander completely dominated Philadelphia's lineup over his 5.1 innings of work. Megill matched his career-high with 10 strikeouts on the night -- the first time he's reached double-digit strikeouts in four years -- and only allowed one hit (while walking four).

Megill lowered his season ERA to 1.09 through five starts and 24.2 innings as the 29-year-old has been a huge boost for the Mets who continue to lead MLB in ERA.

-With one out in the sixth and a runner on first base, manager Carlos Mendoza chose to pull Megill after 92 pitches in favor of Reed Garrett who had stranded eight out of eight inherited runners entering Monday's game. The reliever made it nine of nine after working around a hit and getting the final two outs of the inning and has yet to allow an earned run over 9.2 innings to start the year.

-Having already allowed two home runs in the first two innings, Nola almost gave up a third after Juan Soto cranked a 1-2 pitch down the right-field line that was initially ruled a three-run homer but was overturned and ruled a foul ball. After review, it appeared Soto just missed his first Citi Field home run as a Met.

-Able to pitch into the seventh inning after a bumpy start, Nola left with runners on first and second and one out. With those baserunners Nola's responsibility, reliever Jose Ruiz entered the game to try and help his starter and escape the jam. After getting one out, Ruiz had to get through Lindor, but the red-hot shortstop crushed his second home run of the game on the second pitch he saw to give New York a 5-0 lead.

Lindor finished 2-for-3 with a walk, four RBI and two runs scored.

-Bidding for a three-inning save after entering a 2-0 game in the seventh inning and getting the first six outs on 23 pitches, Max Kranick struggled to start the ninth and allowed a run on two hits. A third consecutive hit allowed by Kranick prompted Mendoza to opt for his closer Edwin Diaz, but that decision didn't come without some nerves as Diaz allowed a three-run homer to Bryson Stott that cut the Mets' lead to a skinny run.

Diaz rebounded quickly, though, and struck out Trea Turner and Bryce Harper to end the game.

Game MVP: Francisco Lindor

His two home runs proved to be the difference in the game as the Phillies made things interesting in the ninth inning.

Highlights

LEADOFF LINDOR!

ANOTHER LEADOFF BLAST FOR FRANCISCO LINDOR! pic.twitter.com/C92Qn48Tzc

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 21, 2025

Tylor Megill sets down Nick Castellanos, Max Kepler and J.T. Realmuto as he strikes out the side in the 2nd! 💪 pic.twitter.com/r8BwkOdnX0

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 21, 2025

HEY JESSE!

JESSE WINKER'S FIRST HOME RUN OF THE YEAR! pic.twitter.com/5gN3HNbqTc

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 21, 2025

Juan Soto *just* missed his first Citi Field home run as a Met pic.twitter.com/KL17ufnZgt

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 22, 2025

STRUCK HIM OUT.

10 Ks in 5 innings for Tylor Megill! pic.twitter.com/n28HimX5d6

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 22, 2025

FRANCISCO LINDOR STRIKES AGAIN!

HIS SECOND HOME RUN OF THE NIGHT! pic.twitter.com/oUAsBzVPCg

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 22, 2025

HEEEEEE STRUCK HIM OUT AND THE BALLGAME IS OVER!

METS WIN 5-4! pic.twitter.com/5cvppGx714

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 22, 2025

What's next

The Mets continue their three-game series against their division rivals on Tuesday with first pitch scheduled for 7:10 p.m.

RHP Griffin Canning (2-1, 3.43 ERA) will pitch for New York while the Phillies counter with LHP Cristopher Sanchez (2-0, 2.96 ERA).

In their first meeting since last season's ALCS, the Yankees fell to the Cleveland Guardians, 6-4, on Monday night at Progressive Field.

Here are the takeaways...

-- In his second start of the season, Clarke Schmidt was inefficient. He overcame command issues in the first two innings and left the mound unscathed, but trouble arrived in the third when he served up back-to-back homers to Jose Ramirez and Kyle Manzardo, giving the Guardians a 4-0 lead. Schmidt managed to work out of a bases-loaded jam in the fourth, but gave up his fifth run on a broken-bat single.

-- A steady dose of cutters from Schmidt was expected against a lefty-heavy lineup, but the overall attack plan failed. He didn't come back out for the fifth, after allowing five runs on seven hits and three walks across 80 pitches. He did strike out seven, however. Lined up to make his next start at home against the Blue Jays this coming weekend, his ERA now sits at 7.45 through 9.2 total innings.

-- Guardians starter Gavin Williams also had to work around some early troubles with command, but the Yankees struggled to make solid contact against his high-90s fastball with movement and sharp breaking balls. Rallies with two runners on in the first and fifth innings were squandered by double-play grounders, and it wasn't until the seventh that New York's offense finally woke up.

-- Following a leadoff single by Anthony Volpe in the seventh, Jasson Dominguez took a curveball off Williams deep into the center-field seats for a two-run shot, cutting the Yankees' deficit to 6-2. They weren't able to inflict more damage against Williams, though -- the tall right-hander completed 6.1 innings with a season-high eight strikeouts.

-- In desperate need of a clutch hit -- or any kind of hit, actually -- Jazz Chisholm Jr. finally produced one in the eighth. With a runner on first and two out, he demolished a Paul Sewald fastball for a two-run homer to right, trimming the deficit to 6-4. The blast couldn't have arrived a better time for the Yankees' second baseman, who was in the midst of a 2-for-23 slump.

-- Cleveland didn't turn to struggling closer Emmanuel Clase in the ninth -- instead, set-up man Cade Smith took on the save opportunity. New York had a chance to tie the game, as a one-out single from Oswaldo Cabrera allowed Austin Wells and Aaron Judge to come up as the tying run. But the rally was short-lived -- Smith struck out the Nos. 1 and 2 hitters to end the game. The Yankees went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position and left seven runners on base.

-- Ben Rice grounded out to second as a pinch-hitter for Pablo Reyes in the ninth. The rookie first baseman missed Sunday's win over the Rays after suffering a left elbow contunsion on Saturday. Yankees manager Aaron Boone expects Rice to return to the starting lineup on Tuesday.

Game MVP: Jose Ramirez

Cleveland's most dangerous hitter lived up to his billing, delivering a three-run shot off Schmidt in the third and an RBI single off Yoendrys Gomez in the sixth. Ramirez entered Monday with a .333 lifetime average against the Yankees (61 games).

Highlights

Jasson Dominguez hits a 2-run homer! 😤 pic.twitter.com/a8FL9jBq1k

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) April 22, 2025

Yankees pull within two after a Jazz Chisholm HR! 👏 pic.twitter.com/zSL3n8MXzg

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) April 22, 2025

What's next

The Yankees (14-9) will play the middle game of their three-game set in Cleveland on Tuesday night, with first pitch scheduled for 6:10 p.m.

Will Warren (1-0, 5.17 ERA) is slated to make his fifth start of the season, opposite Tanner Bibee (1-2, 5.85 ERA).

‘It's pretty brutal' — Nola addresses his velocity dip and 0-5 start originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

NEW YORK — The season is less than a month old but Monday night was emblematic of how it’s been for Aaron Nola in 2025.

Loud contact early. Lots of baserunners. High-wire acts. A settling-in period.

And then more frustration.

Nola would have had a six-inning, two-run quality start but manager Rob Thomson sent him out for the seventh at 89 pitches because the Phillies trailed by two runs and had a short bullpen.

Nola’s fastball velocity, already down, was even lower in that seventh inning to the 88-89 mph range.

“I think it’s probably an early-season thing,” he said. “Feel like I do start out with lower velocity when it’s cold and then it starts to tick up when it gets a little bit hotter. Hope that’s the case but just got to keep competing out there. Commanding the ball is the most important thing for me.”

Nola’s four-seam fastball and sinker are both down 2 mph this season, to 91 and 90, respectively. It’s not the first or second time this has happened. Just last April, Nola’s velocity was in this same range before averaging 92.8 mph after May 1.

He and the Phillies are hoping that’s the case again. But what if it isn’t? What if the 198 innings he’s averaged over the last six non-shortened seasons are beginning to catch up?

“Gotta keep competing, man,” Nola said. “I’ve gotta throw a lot of innings, try to limit the runs and compete. I know I haven’t done that so far this year but I’ve gotta command all my other pitches and go out and try to win the game. I can’t control the results but I can control the walks and getting ahead of guys.

“I’m not getting the results. When I do get a groundball, it’s going through holes. My fastball’s not where I need it to be right now and I hope the velocity starts to kick up here soon. Curveball, changeup felt pretty good tonight. But when the ball’s over the plate, they’re not missing it right now.”

Nola missed with a low-and-in curveball to leadoff man Francisco Lindor in the bottom of the first. It was tattooed 376 feet to give the Mets an early lead.

Nola missed right down the middle on a 2-0 count to Jesse Winker to begin the second. It was hit even harder for a solo homer.

He put five men on base over the next four innings but stranded them all before two early baserunners ended his night in the seventh. Both scored when Jose Ruiz gave up a three-run shot to Lindor. The Phillies scored four runs in the ninth inning but lost, 5-4.

“It’s frustrating for sure,” Nola said. “I’m 0-5 with a six-and-a-half (ERA), it’s pretty brutal. But I’m gonna keep working and trying to have good weeks leading up to my next start, preparing as best as I can and trying to stay healthy. Keep believing that things will turn around soon.”

Thomson says he isn’t worried about Nola because he’s seen him pitch through diminished velocity in the past. It’s not as if Nola’s arsenal is based around throwing 96. But he needs more life on the heater. Two of his many weapons are the four-seam fastball just above the zone and the two-seamer that freezes lefties. But both can be easier to time and lay off when they’re 89-91 as opposed to 92-94.

“It’s just a little bit more jump at the end, I think that’s the biggest thing for me, especially with my four-seam,” Nola said. “I need that late jump. I’m not gonna go out and sit 94-95, that’s just never been me, so I need the late jump before it gets to the plate. But command is always number one for me.”

It doesn’t help that the Phillies have scored five runs for Nola in his five starts. Aside from feeling like his location must be perfect, he’s had no room for error.

He’ll be back in the lab this week, working on command and trying to find that “little bit more jump” that can make a world of difference. He grunted more than ever before on Monday night trying to add a little oomph to the fastball.

Nola’s next start will be Saturday afternoon at Wrigley Field. It would be fortuitous if the wind is blowing in.

“I’m not worried about him,” Trea Turner said. “He’s been such a good pitcher for such a long time. People are gonna go through their ups and downs. It’s been a tough start but not worried about him.”

Birdsong shines on night Giants' bullpen needed the help originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO — Hayden Birdsong’s last outing left a bad taste in his mouth. Last Tuesday, his name went in Bryce Harper’s book, and all he could think about for the rest of the Giants’ series at Citizens Bank Park was how much he needed to get back on the mound. 

“I wanted Philly again,” Birdsong said Monday night. “I was itching, telling [bullpen coach Garvin Alston]: ‘Hey, I’m ready.'”

The benefit of being a reliever now is that Birdsong will occasionally get a second crack at a team. But he’s also such a big part of this organization’s future that he might not always get that shot when he wants it. The Giants had no intention of throwing him back out there against the Philadelphia Phillies after he pitched twice in three days, and Birdsong had to wait nearly a full week to touch the mound again.

This is his new reality now, and he couldn’t possibly be handling it better. 

After five days off, Birdsong threw three shutout innings in a 5-2 win over the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday at Oracle Park, saving the bullpen on a night when both Tyler Rogers and Ryan Walker were unavailable because of recent workloads. He took over in the sixth inning of a 2-2 game and struck out four, earning his first win of the 2025 MLB season and first big league win as a reliever. 

“We’re looking for spots like that for him,” manager Bob Melvin said. “It worked out really well today.”

The Bullpen Birdsong experiment could have been awkward. When the Giants chose Landen Roupp as their fifth starter a month ago, there seemed to be a good chance that Birdsong would be back in Triple-A by this point of the season, waiting for an opening in the rotation. 

Nobody has pulled that door all the way open yet, but it hasn’t mattered. Birdsong has been so valuable as a reliever that there’s no need to send him down. He’ll be back in the rotation at some point this season, and possibly for good, but for now he’s a needed weapon for a team that hasn’t made a roster move with the pitching staff through 23 games. 

Birdsong has thrown 13 relief innings over six outings and given up just the two runs, both on the Harper homer. He has 13 strikeouts, three of which came in the eighth inning Monday with the Giants nursing a two-run lead. 

Melvin had Camilo Doval ready for the ninth and Erik Miller available if Birdsong really ran into trouble, but he let the 23-year-old face Sal Frelick with two on and two outs. Birdsong threw his new changeup to get out of the jam. 

Grab some pine, meat 🤫 pic.twitter.com/oBeP0cOe5g

— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) April 22, 2025

“I don’t think anything bothers him too much,” Melvin said. “With baserunners out there, he has the weapons to strike someone out and also the weapons to get a double play.”

It didn’t take long for Birdsong to adjust to life as a reliever, but all of this is still new. There’s a different kind of adrenaline that comes with protecting a two-run lead in the eighth inning in front of 30,000 screaming fans, but Birdsong didn’t seem to feel it. As the changeup settled into Patrick Bailey’s glove, Birdsong turned and strolled off the mound without a hint of emotion on his face. 

“I think if I were to come in in the eighth then it would be a lot more adrenaline going through me, but I was already out there for two [innings],” Birdsong said. “It was like the same thing. Just keep pitching.”

That mentality is part of the reason the Giants went with this plan in the first place. Birdsong always has seemed unflappable, and the Giants had no doubts this spring that he could handle a role change and all that would come with having to keep games close in the late innings. 

As he talked about his new job on Monday night, Birdsong said everything has gone pretty smoothly. His body is bouncing back well, and while he expects to be sore Tuesday after throwing 49 pitches, he also expects to be ready by Wednesday if the Giants need him. There’s no revenge to get this time, but he still can’t wait to get back out there. 

“It’s still baseball regardless of what I’m doing,” he said. “I’m starting to get used to it. I’m starting to like it. It’s fun.”

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(This article was written with the assistance of Castmagic, an AI tool, and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy. Please reach out to us if you notice any mistakes.)

When a player is as talented as Juan Soto, even his “down” moments generate headlines. On the latest episode of "Baseball Bar-B-Cast," hosts Jake Mintz and Jordan Shusterman dove into the ongoing conversation around Soto’s performance thus far for the 2025 New York Mets — and let’s just say both hosts think the concern about Soto is seriously overblown.

The Soto 'slump' that isn’t

For Mets fans who might be worried about Soto after a slightly “slow” start, just pause and look at the numbers. As Mintz points out, “Do you know what his OPS+ is right now? … It’s 137.” 

Shusterman echoes the sentiment, highlighting how baseball discourse tends to exaggerate any little blip for stars such as Soto: “When we’re talking about these tiny April samples … superstars all over the place have 60 OPS+ through the first [few weeks]. They're, like, actively crap, [but] you know, doesn't happen with [Soto]. It doesn't exist. He's on base too often. And that's why, you know, [he has the] highest floor in baseball.”

The bottom line: Even while Mets Twitter wrings its hands, Soto is producing at a rate that’s 37% better than league average. That kind of “struggle” would be a career year for most big leaguers. 

As Mintz says, “That's why Juan Soto is different. … The struggle, the strife, the worry is about a guy who is 37% better than the average hitter.”

Superstar standards and perspective

What Mintz and Shusterman are saying is that the conversation around Soto is more about expectations than reality. “Pretty bad for Juan Soto, but this is why Juan Soto is different,” Mintz deadpans.

They also offer a dose of long-term context, pointing out that last year, Aaron Judge looked “like a bad dude” for a month, posting a .674 OPS through 22 games. Hot and cold streaks come for everyone, but the truth is that Soto’s “lows” are higher than most players’ highs. What sets Soto apart, according to the hosts, is not just his power but also his ability to reach base and avoid prolonged hitting droughts.

So if you’re tuning in to Mets games or scrolling through social media and see worried takes about Soto, take it from "Baseball Bar-B-Cast:" There’s nothing to stress about. 

“Juan Soto — he’ll be just fine. I wouldn't be too concerned about him,” Shusterman concludes.

The real takeaway? Enjoy the show, and take some time to appreciate the player.

For more on the Mets and the rest of the league, tune in to "Baseball-Bar-B-Cast" on Apple, Spotify or YouTube.

Another rough night at Citi Field to begin Phillies' season series with Mets originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

NEW YORK — The fifth pitch of Aaron Nola’s night was a low-and-in curveball to one of Francisco Lindor’s nitro zones, it traveled 376 feet over the wall in right field and so began the Phillies’ 2025 season series with the Mets.

The Phils were sent home last October on this same field in Flushing, and the Mets again looked like the superior team on Monday night. The final score was a 5-4 loss but the Mets entered the ninth with a five-run lead and tried to get middle reliever Max Kranick through a third inning when the Phillies finally came through with a few knocks. It was too little, too late.

Nola served up leadoff home runs in each of the first two innings while Mets right-hander Tylor Megill stifled the Phils’ offense for the sixth consecutive time.

Megill retired eight of nine the first trip through the order, striking out five, before the Phillies put some solid plate appearances on him in the third inning. They loaded the bases on a Bryson Stott single and back-to-back two-out walks from Trea Turner and Bryce Harper. Kyle Schwarber expanded the zone, though, to strike out on a down-and-away changeup.

Not capitalizing on that opportunity hurt because the Phillies’ chances to touch Megill have always been sparse. He’s dominated them in six starts dating back to 2022 with a 1.36 ERA. The Phillies have hit .149 and homered once in 124 plate appearances against him.

The Phillies are 13-10, three games behind the Mets in the NL East. They’re 20-30 in their last 50 games against the Mets, who played them tough even before they started spending freely under owner Steve Cohen. This looks like a much better club than even the one that defeated the Phillies in the 2024 NLDS with the additions of Juan Soto and Clay Holmes, a healthy Kodai Senga and the most productive start of Pete Alonso’s career.

It was obviously just one early-season game and the teams will meet at least 12 more times, but Monday was a continuation of a couple of concerning trends. The Phils are going to need to hit Megill at some point. His career ERA entering the night was 4.39.

Nola was slightly better than he’d been previously and two of the runs he was charged with were inherited by Jose Ruiz, but he continues to struggle with the home run ball, pitch with diminished velocity and put more traffic on the basepaths than usual. Though he’s had trouble in the past keeping the ball in the park, Nola has always maintained low walk rates and low opposing batting averages, which has resulted in many of the home runs being solos.

Nola has been more hittable than ever before, though, with a .301 opponents’ batting average compared to .233 for his career. He’s also walked 10 batters over his last three starts. Nola said after his most recent outing against the Giants that he hasn’t felt like himself from the stretch this season, and he’s spent quite a bit of time in the stretch, putting the leadoff man on base in nine of his last 18 innings. He is 0-5 with a 6.43 ERA.

Once again, though, it wouldn’t have mattered much if Nola pitched a gem. The Phillies have scored a grand total of five runs for him in his five starts.

They’ll look to even the series Tuesday night behind Cristopher Sanchez, whose last outing was one of the most impressive by a Phillie in recent memory. He’ll need to keep it up.

What we learned as Flores, Lee deliver in Giants' win vs. Brewers originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

BOX SCORE

SAN FRANCISCO — The reward for playing 10 games in three cities over 10 days and traveling from the East Coast to Anaheim without a day off, or even a 1 p.m. game on getaway day in Philadelphia? For the Giants, it was another night of baseball.

They returned to San Francisco on Monday night and began a seven-game homestand against two teams — the Milwaukee Brewers and Texas Rangers — with postseason aspirations, and once again, they responded to the challenge. Wilmer Flores hit a go-ahead blast and Hayden Birdsong provided a huge boost to a tired bullpen as the Giants won 5-2 on their first night back at Oracle Park. They’re now 6-5 during this marathon stretch and 15-8 on the 2025 MLB season.

WILMER FOR THE LEAD 💥 pic.twitter.com/Wb2EMaQEmL

— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) April 22, 2025

The Giants took the lead in the sixth when Flores crushed a middle-middle sinker from Grant Anderson. An inning later, their best player early on tacked on an insurance run. With Willy Adames on first, Jung Hoo Lee smoked a line drive into the gap in right-center and cruised into third for his second triple of the season.

Jung Hoo Lee delivers with an RBI triple ‼ pic.twitter.com/yQSBHp7ZDN

— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) April 22, 2025

The Giants trailed early but caught up in the fifth, with a little help from the Brewers. Tyler Fitzgerald reached on his second infield single and moved along to second on a walk of Mike Yastrzemski that ended Quinn Priester’s night. Right-hander Nick Mears entered to face Adames and got a potential double-play ball to third, but Adames beat out the throw to first, which clanked off Rhys Hoskins’ glove. That allowed Fitzgerald to walk home for the tying run.

All tied up 😅 pic.twitter.com/1zCW5MrRb7

— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) April 22, 2025

With Ryan Walker unavailable after going back-to-back games in Anaheim, Giants manager Bob Melvin figured he would have to get creative if he had a lead late in the game. Birdsong ended up providing a relatively smooth path, throwing three dominant innings out of the bullpen to get the ball to Camilo Doval, who went 1-2-3 for his third save. 

Flo Show

It’s been an odd month for Flores. His photo is constantly on graphics representing the league leaders in home runs and RBI, but he entered Monday’s game with an fWAR of 0.0 and a wRC+ that put him 10 points below league-average as a hitter. Flores isn’t drawing walks, is one of the slowest players in baseball, and doesn’t play defense — but the Giants don’t care about the advanced metrics at all right now. 

From a more traditional standpoint, Flores is off to a huge start. The only player in the NL with more homers is Fernando Tatis Jr., and Aaron Judge and Spencer Torkelson are the only other big leaguers with at least seven homers and 20 RBI. With the go-ahead homer, Flores moved into a tie with Pete Alonso for the league lead in runs driven in. 

The Giants talked all spring of the importance of having more “RBI guys.” Nobody is doing it better than Flores right now, and that has made it pretty easy to push all the other numbers to the side. 

Establish It

Robbie Ray has had to grind through his starts this season, and this one was no exception. Ray was at 64 pitches through three innings and had only one clean inning on the night, but he allowed just two runs. They came on a pitch that was pretty predictable by that point of the second inning. 

Of Ray’s first 41 pitches, 37 were four-seamers, including an elevated fastball that No. 9 hitter Caleb Durbin smacked out to left for his first big league homer. Ray mixed in a lot more sliders and changeups the second and third times through the order, but he paid for being fastball-heavy in the first couple of innings. 

Ray ended up getting charged with two earned on five hits and three walks. After throwing four innings in each of his starts on the road trip, he went five on the first night back home. 

Old Friends

Nobody was busier before the game than Adames, who spent four seasons in Milwaukee before signing with the Giants in the offseason. Adames took about 30 minutes in the afternoon to catch up with Brewers reporters, and he made his rounds during BP to chat with old teammates, most notably right-hander Freddy Peralta, a close friend who will start Wednesday’s game. 

Adames and Yelich choppin' it up pregame 🤝 pic.twitter.com/4Ur1ii6gpW

— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) April 22, 2025

The Giants are still waiting for Adames to break out at the plate, and it didn’t come against his old friends. He struck out the first time up and then grounded out three straight times. The night dropped his average to .194. 

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The Mets, coming off a four-game sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals, now welcome the rival Philadelphia Phillies to Citi Field for an NL East showdown in Queens.

Speaking during his typical once-a-homestand media availability, Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns discussed a number of topics, including what happens to the roster when Jeff McNeiland Francisco Alvarez come back, the current frenzied atmosphere at the ballpark, and Pete Alonso's red-hot start.

Here are the key takeaways...

"Difficult decisions are a good thing"

McNeil and Alvarez will continue their rehab assignments over the next few days, but there's a chance both players could be back on the major league roster by the end of the week.

So will Alvarez instantly take over as the starting catcher?

"I think we have two catchers who we feel really good about," Stearns said. "Mendy’s going to decide who plays every day and who gives us the best chance to win, and we certainly think Alvy’s going to be a huge part of that."

Meanwhile, Stearns noted that both Luisangel Acuña and Brett Baty have “done a nice job,” noting it’s not easy to bounce back and forth between second and third base -- which Baty has done -- and saying Acuña has been doing what they expected of him.

"I think difficult decisions are a good thing," Stearns said. "When we have players that we want to keep here as we get healthier, these types of decisions are going to become more and more a part of our thought process. We’re going to continue to talk about it, and when Jeff is ready we’ll certainly make a decision to get him back on the roster.

"And I imagine Jeff’s going to do what he always does: he’s going to bounce around, he’s going to play some second, he’ll fill in for the corner outfielders when needed. We’ll see how the center field thing goes. I think he’s excited about that, so there are plenty of at-bats to go around here, and Jeff will certainly get his share."

Hey Siri, who plays center?

"I don’t think we know," Stearns said candidly on what the center field mix will look like until Jose Siri returns. "I think Tyrone [Taylor] is going to get a lot of it, clearly. He’s a very gifted centerfielder, he can impact the game in a number of different ways, and I think he’s starting to take better at-bats as well.

"Beyond that, we’ll see. Jeff could be a part of it. Brandon [Nimmo] could be a part of it. Luis could be a part of it. I think it’s who’s playing well, what pitchers we're facing, how we want to structure the lineup on any particular day. But we feel confident we have enough people to play there, to cover that position and cover it well."

Controlled chaos in Queens

"I think the fans in general have been outstanding this year," said Stearns. "It’s been fun coming to the ballpark. I get a sneak peek at some of the attendance numbers ahead of a homestand, and some of them I did double takes where it’s like, ‘Wow, that’s really good for April.’

"Not only have the numbers been good on paper, but it has felt like that in the ballpark, and so it’s exciting. Our players have talked about it, I think we all feel it when we’re here… I think we had a fun run last year, our fans believe in this team, and we’ve played pretty well out of the chute here, which probably helps."

"I think we have [a homefield advantage]," Stearns added. "It feels like we have it right now. Good players help as well, but certainly I think we have the ability and our fan base, historically, has shown the ability to make this an uncomfortable place for opposing players. When I was on the fan side of this, it’s fun to come to a ballpark that’s an uncomfortable place for opposing players.

"It’s a whole heck of a lot of fun for our players to see that when it happens. So I think we are getting to that point where our players really enjoy this atmosphere and can take their level of intensity to another notch. And on the flipside, it can get pretty loud and hostile for the opposition, and that’s not a bad thing."   

What's a Polar Bear doing being so hot?

"What Pete’s doing is as good a start as you can imagine for, I think, any human," Stearns said on Alonso's torrid start at the dish. "This is pretty impressive. He’s locked in. His zone control  is incredible right now. He’s hitting everything hard. I’ve been enormously impressed."

The first-place Mets are inching closer to welcoming a pair of injured hitters back into their starting lineup.

Before their series opener against the rival Phillies on Monday, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said that catcher Francisco Alvarez (hamate fracture) and veteran Jeff McNeil (oblique strain) will continue their rehab assignments with Triple-A Syracuse this week.

The plan is for both players to complete a full nine innings on Tuesday and Wednesday, and McNeil will receive work at second base and in center field.

"[They're] feeling good," Mendoza said. "I think at this point, it's just more building up volume for them. Getting used to playing the full games, back-to-back, and things like that."

Alvarez, who broke his hand early in spring training, served as the designated hitter for Double-A Binghampton on Sunday, going 1-for-5. As for McNeil, he found much more succcess in the same lineup on Sunday, finishing 4-for-4 with a home run and double. Alvarez has played eight rehab games thus far, while McNeil has played six.

Vientos feeling better

Mark Vientos was unavailable for Sunday's win against the Cardinals due to a groin injury suffered on Saturday, but the third baseman has a chance to see some game action again on Monday. Mendoza isn't ruling him out as a pinch-hitter.

"I saw him take ground balls earlier, he was doing some sprints. He's scheduled to take BP," Mendoza said. "If he comes through batting practice and all that, he could be an option off the bench today."

It's been an uninspiring April for Vientos, who's hitting a measly .167 through 20 games (72 at-bats). But he showed some signs of a turnaround against the Cardinals this past weekend, smacking a pair of solo homers. Brett Baty took over for Vientos at the hot corner on Sunday, and he's once again slated to start there on Monday, this time batting eighth.

Manaea keeps playing catch

Sean Manaea suffered a setback in his recovery from an oblique injury a few weeks ago, but Mendoza said on Monday that the veteran left-hander is doing light toss from 60 feet and expected to move to 75 feet in the coming days.

His return to the Mets' rotation is expected sometime in May, barring another complication. Mendoza noted that they're still "a few weeks away from that."