The Mets traded for Blackburn at the deadline last year, but his season was cut short by a right hand contusion and a spinal fluid leak. The Mets re-signed him to a one-year, $4.05 million contract in the offseason, but he battled right knee inflammation and did not make his season debut until June 2.

It's the opener of a big four-game series in the Bronx, with the October-minded rival Sox and Yanks battling down the stretch.