For the Mets on Sunday, their hopes of a late-season sprint into an unforgettable autumn start in the birthplace of Little League.

Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez exited Sunday’s 7-3 win over the Seattle Mariners in the Little League Classic in Williamsport with a right thumb injury. Alvarez will return to New York and undergo an MRI on Monday’s day off.

It’s times like these when all eyes shift to the person who is supposed to lead the turnaround and put everyone at ease.

Mark Vientos hits a three-run homer, leading the New York Mets to a 7-3 victory over the Seattle Mariners in the Little League Classic on Sunday night.

Paul Blackburn said he just wanted to pitch “somewhere” when he was reinstated from the injured list Thursday. It seemed pretty clear then that the “somewhere” might not be in Flushing.

Just about everyone is out of ideas on how to fix the New York Mets. Frankie Montas was moved to the bullpen. Paul Blackburn has been DFA’d. The lineup has been

Nolan McLean provided the struggling Mets a much-needed lift on Saturday, tossing 5 1/3 scoreless innings in his major league debut as New York beat the Seattle Mariners 3-1. McLean (1-0) allowed two hits with four walks and struck out eight to help lift the Mets to just their third win in their last 17 games.

Seattle begins the series 1.5 back of the Astros for first place in the AL West, and are sitting 2.5 games up in the Wild Card race. One ray of hope for the Mets is that the Mariners have been substantially better at home than on the road, but at .500 away, they’re not exactly at an automatic disadvantage or anything of the like.