Mets’ Stroman expects quick return

New York — A reporter was halfway through asking a question when Marcus Stroman interjected.

“I'm going to make that start against the Cubs on Tuesday,” Stroman said, rather emphatically. So there you have it. He is not concerned about the hamstring tightness that forced him to leave Wednesday's game against Cleveland. He'd never before felt it, but said he will only need to go through his “progression” to recover before his next start arrives.

“Good,” Stroman said when asked how he felt. “Just some tightness.”

In the top of the fourth, Pete Alonso fielded a ball and Stroman ran off the mound to cover first. That's when he experienced “just like a pretty strong, cramp feeling.”

“I felt like I could have went out there and pushed it,” Stroman said, “but I don't think that would have been a smart play.”

The Mets certainly will not risk anything with Stroman, who was acquired from Toronto days before the trade deadline. He has a 4.58 ERA over four starts with New York.

He thought his latest outing, in which he allowed a run over four innings before exiting, was “OK.”

“I think I need to be better, Stroman said. “I think I will be better.”

The confident Stroman seemed sure he would start against the Cubs, but Mets manager Mickey Callaway did not guarantee it.

“I think we have to obviously get through every day up until then, but he feels pretty good coming in today,” Callaway said before Thursday's game.

“We'll have a good strategy and put him in the best spot we possibly can to see if he can make it.”

Stroman received an MRI on Wednesday night. As he traveled back from it, he listened to the comeback victory on the radio.

“To hear it on the radio, the call and everything, was pretty legendary,” Stroman said. “J.D. Davis, man, he's been extremely locked in, what he's been doing at the plate. Just the atbats he's been putting together are unbelievable. I think it kind of trickles down to the entire lineup.”