Catcher Francisco Alvarez and utility man Jeff McNeil were absent from the New York Mets' lineup for the first four weeks of the regular season, but they were finally activated from the injured list on Friday.

The Mets activated catcher Francisco Alvarez and second baseman Jeff McNeil from the injured list Friday, and both were in the lineup to make their season debut in the opener of a four-game series against the Nationals.

The Mets, already atop not only the National League East but MLB as a whole, have made do for the past four weeks without two of their key players. Prior to the opener of New York’s four-game series vs.