Here's what happened in Mets Land on Tuesday in case you missed it...

- Justin Verlander made his long-awaited Citi Field debut, but the future Hall of Famer had a night to forget, allowing six earned runs on eight hits (including two home runs) over five innings in an 8-5 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays.

- After the game Verlander talked about the "challenge" of facing the Rays lineup, and manager Buck Showalter said the veteran starter is "still in April" and "going to be fine."

- SNY's Andy Martino took a look at how the Mets were set to jump "mom-and-pop to mainstream," but their uninspiring start means they have to earn back the buzz they squandered.

- On the plus side for the Mets' struggling offense, Pete Alonso hit his 14th home run of the season and Brett Baty and Eduardo Escobar also went deep. Of course, the Mets had only three other hits (all singles) and one walk the rest of the night.

-  Showalter said the club expects Carlos Carrasco to make his return from the Injured List Friday against the Cleveland Guardians.

- New York optioned LHP David Peterson to Triple-A Syracuse after he got touched up in his last outing and called-up LHP Josh Walker, who pitched a scoreless frame in his MLB debut Tuesday.

- Kumar Rocker, a former first-round draft pick by the Mets who ultimately didn't sign with the team and was taken a year later by the Texas Rangers, will undergo Tommy John surgery.