Kodai Senga. Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Mets floundered against a pair of tough opponents on the road this week, as they suffered an agonizing sweep at the hands of the Atlanta Braves before taking just a single game from the Pittsburgh Pirates over the weekend. Rookies Francisco Álvarez and Kodai Senga continued to chug along, however, and provide some optimism and excitement for both the present and the future.

Hitter of the Week

This award should probably be named after Francisco Álvarez at this point.

Álvarez sat during the first game of the series against the Braves upon Omar Narváez’s return off the injured list, but he reintroduced himself rather quickly. He homered off Charlie Morton in the second inning of Wednesday’s game that extended the Mets’ lead to 2-0 before one-upping himself on Thursday. He blasted a two-run shot off Spencer Strider in the fourth inning that made it an 8-5 game in favor of New York before adding a solo homer for good measure in the sixth inning off Michael Tonkin.

Álvarez went just 2-for-13 against the Pirates, but those two hits were an RBI single against All-Star closer David Bednar on Friday and yet another solo homer on Saturday, this time against former Met Colin Holderman.

Álvarez finished the week with a slash line of .227/.261/.773 to go with four home runs and 6 RBI.

Pitcher of the Week

Kodai Senga, despite some inconsistencies, has emerged as the Mets’ most reliable starter and continues to flash all-world potential.

Senga bounced back from a disappointing outing against the Toronto Blue Jays on short rest with a commanding outing on Saturday in Pittsburgh. He allowed just two hits during his start, both coming in the first two innings. After setting down four hitters in a row, Senga walked three batters in consecutive at-bats in the third inning but got out of it thanks to a spectacular leaping catch by Brandon Nimmo.

Senga caught his groove from there, working around three errors to minimize any damage while also striking out five hitters and walking just one in his last four innings of work while leading the team to a 5-1 win.

In total, Senga threw seven innings while allowing an unearned run on two hits and four walks to go with six strikeouts.