New York Mets slugger Pete Alonso avoided ending his streak of consecutive games played on Sunday. Alonso entered the team's clash with the Cincinnati Reds in the seventh inning after he was initially out of the starting lineup with a hand injury (h/t Will Sammon of The Athletic).

The Mets' return from the All-Star break provided plenty of hoopla, but the three-game set against the Reds at Citi Field was not as celebratory.

Marte’s activation came amid a flurry of roster moves by the Mets, who also placed left-handed longman Brandon Waddell on the 15-day injured list with a right hip impingement. Waddell suffered the injury when he slipped on the mound during a 3.2-inning outing on Friday against the Cincinnati Reds.

CINCINNATI — Taking two out of three games from the New York Mets is good. However, Sunday’s 3-2 loss for the Reds is a missed opportunity to earn a huge sweep of a good Mets team and further dent into the National League Wild Card race.

BOTTOM LINE: The New York Mets look to break their three-game home slide with a win against the Cincinnati Reds. New York has gone 33-16 at home and 55-44 overall. Mets pitchers have a collective 3.61 ERA, which ranks second in the NL.

The New York Mets could be one of the more aggressive buyers at the trade deadline, and it might result in a huge trade with the Cleveland Guardians.

Juan Soto finds himself in quite the historic company. The New York Mets slugger has started his tenure with his new team in a way no one has in 89 years. In fact, only two players in MLB history have done what Soto has done with the Mets, and their names are Babe Ruth and Jimmie Foxx.

Francisco Alvarez gets a loud ovation in return to Citi Field as the New York Mets catcher rejoins team during crucial stretch of MLB season.