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What stands out, Jeremy Hefner relates, is how natural the decision felt. The Mets needed an extra starter in the midst of playing 10 straight days to give all the mainstays an extra day’s rest, notably Kodai Senga. Paul Blackburn was ready.

So Blackburn was inserted to make his 2025 debut Monday night against the highest-scoring team in the majors at Dodger Stadium.

“[Facing the Dodgers] didn’t even come up in the conversation,” said Hefner, the Mets pitching coach.

There are many reasons that the Mets, with a 5-3 triumph Sunday over the Bad News Rockies, completed a 7-2 homestand and improved to an MLB-best 24-7 at home and at 37-22 were a season-high 15 games over .500 and were tied for the National League’s best record. But it begins at the start.