Winning proves to be the best medicine for Mets

Because the New York baseball schedule is composed of 162 one-game seasons, it was only fair to ask Mets owner Steve Cohen — 90 minutes before Friday’s home opener — how quickly his team had to turn things around.

Never mind the Mets showing up at Citi Field only hours earlier, some navigating the Grand Central or LIE for the first time, after settling into their homes the previous night. What hung over Buck Showalter & Co. on Friday morning, looming larger than the ginormous new video board, was the stench of the past week’s sweep in Milwaukee, a stunning no-show for a team that many believed won the winter.

Conveniently enough, Cohen chose to hold court in the Mets’ dugout, where he expressed patience regarding the Mets’ bumpy start. But if he truly believed seven games was too early to make assumptions, did he have a more reasonable checkpoint circled on his calendar?

“Yeah, eight games,” Cohen said, smiling. He then quickly interjected, “Nah, that’s a joke.”

But Cohen added that he did use that same line with Showalter that morning — also in jest — and a few hours later, the Mets temporarily shelved that conversation with a 9-3 victory, their fourth in five games against the misfit Marlins. They took advantage of 12 walks, crawled to a 2-0 lead without a ball reaching the outfield grass — Daniel Vogelbach’s infield single (!) delivered the second run — and later cruised on homers by Pete Alonso, Francisco Lindor and Starling Marte.

Nobody dares mention a must-win just eight games into a season. But some victories carry more weight than others, even in April, and the Mets had to nudge the scale back in their favor to some degree, especially after absorbing a few PR hits — both on and off the field — heading into Friday’s opener.

“The Brewers outplayed us,” Lindor said. “But you’ve got to turn the page. Today was a good day for the New York Mets. But we’ve got to turn the page.”

The Mets needed a page-turner Friday. There was the “rainout” of Thursday’s original Opening Day without a drop of precipitation, a decision that no doubt helped the shell-shocked Mets recover from Milwaukee’s meltdown but a rescheduling that may have caused some swaths of empty seats in the announced sellout crowd of 43,590. Also, there was the sleeve-patch imbroglio, which was greeted with such a backlash on social media that Cohen immediately pledged to change the hospital logo due to its “Phillies colors” of red and white.

It’s a long season, and adjustments always need to be made. Consider it part of the process. Cohen declined to reveal the hospital’s payment for the sleeve patch, or what he dished out for the massive centerfield scoreboard. But we do know what Cohen spent on this year’s roster, and at $376 million — MLB’s highest payroll by a wide margin, nearly $100 million more than the runner-up Yankees — the Mets aren’t going to get many free passes this summer.

Whenever those losing streaks pop up, like that one in Milwaukee, where the Mets were outscored 19-0 in the first two games, people are going to freak out. That’s what happens coming off a 101-win season, or Cohen’s winter shopping spree.

As Showalter likes to say, Cohen eliminates excuses, and that includes the rash of injuries the Mets already have endured.

Remember, it was supposed to be Justin Verlander pitching the Citi Field opener, not Tylor Megill, but half the Mets’ matching pair of $43 million aces was placed on the injured list only minutes before Max Scherzer took the mound to start the season in Miami. Megill — who was rushed down from Triple-A Syracuse last week — has done an admirable fill-in job and allowed only three hits in six scoreless innings Friday.

That didn’t mean the Mets got to enjoy a stress-free ride. Megill took Jean Segura’s 108-mph liner off his right foot in the fourth inning, a ball smacked so hard that it ricocheted into rightfield for a single, yet stayed in the game. For once, this was a lucky bounce.

“Feels fine,” Megill said. “I think it hit me in the best spot possible. Front of the foot basically — no bone.”

That was the good injury news. Otherwise, the Mets welcomed top prospect Francisco Alvarez back to Flushing before Friday’s game, an emergency call-up for starting catcher Omar Narvaez, expected to be out for roughly two months with a left calf strain.

It’s somewhat of an ominous sign when the Mets kick off the new season wearing a hospital patch on their left sleeve and the loudest ovation at the Citi Field opener is for a guy on crutches — Edwin Diaz, who came out to “Narco” but likely is gone for the year after knee surgery.

But the Mets have a whole season to worry about that stuff. The only goal in front of them Friday was to win and send the fans home happy. Mission accomplished for now, and they also put a smile on their owner’s face. As Lindor said, that’s a good day.

By David Lennon

dave.lennon@newsday.comDPLennon

David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.