Starling Marte was back Sunday night, giving the Mets their first “regular” lineup in four games. 

The veteran outfielder departed Tuesday’s game in San Diego with left quadriceps discomfort. On the same night, Pete Alonso was hit in the right hand by a pitch and forced to leave the game. 

Marte failed in attempts to talk his way back into the lineup Friday and Saturday, but Buck Showalter finally relented for the Mets’ 4-1 win in the series finale against the Angels. Alonso returned to the lineup two days earlier. 

Marte went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored. 

“Marte is happy and we’ll see,” Showalter said. “We could have pushed the envelope the last couple of days. We just would like to get a feel where he is before the off day, but he’s ready to go.” 

A treacherous lightning and thunder storm engulfed the Tampa area all day Saturday, and it figuratively made its way onto the Amalie Arena ice to wash away the Rangers.

The Lightning struck the Rangers down the same way they have their past 10 straight playoff opponents, drowning the visitors in all three zones and riding a two-goal performance from captain Steven Stamkos to hand the Rangers a 2-1 loss that ended their season in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Final.

The Lightning are marching on to their third straight Stanley Cup Final, where the Avalanche await, after proving that they are still the masters of closing out series.

“They did, we didn’t,” a dejected Chris Kreider said of the Rangers’ first loss in six elimination games this postseason. “We did it in the first round, the second round and didn’t do it this round, I guess. They got timely goals. We felt like we were in every game.”

The Denver Broncos have entered a sale agreement with the Walton-Penner family ownership group, led by Walmart heir Rob Walton, as part of a reported record-setting deal to purchase the NFL franchise.

The Broncos confirmed the acquisition in a statement shared by team president and CEO Joe Ellis.

“While this purchase and sale agreement is pending approval from the NFL’s finance committee and league ownership, today marks a significant step on the path to an exciting new chapter in Broncos history,” Ellis said.

The winning bid is valued at $4.65 billion, the most expensive price ever paid for a U.S. sports team, more than doubling the $2.275 paid by David Tepper to acquire the Carolina Panthers in 2018.

The Walton-Penner group is led by Walton, his daughter, Carrie, and his son-in-law, Greg Penner.