NEW YORK -- Mets right-hander Max Scherzer can’t wait to rejoin the Mets and help them during the pennant stretch, and his first step is a rehab assignment on Tuesday for Double-A Binghamton. The three-time Cy Young Award winner is expected to throw 60 to 70 pitches in a game that can be viewed for free on MLB.com and MLB.TV,

Scherzer has missed a little more than a month of action because of a left oblique strain. His presence and pitching skills would be a big help to a Mets team currently in first place in the NL East, 5 1/2 games ahead of the Braves.

“I can’t wait,” Scherzer said. “I came here to win and I want to be a part of it. We are good. We have been checking a lot of boxes, but we haven’t won anything yet.

“So many things could happen. You’re always just one injury away from being a completely different team. That’s why you have to keep your nose down, keep grinding. I understand we have played well. We have done a lot of good things thus far, but it doesn’t mean anything.”

Scherzer won a World Series title with the 2019 Nationals. With the best record in the NL, the Mets are vying for one this year. But Scherzer hesitates to compare the two teams.

“[It’s] a completely different team,” Scherzer said. “Every team has its own story. Our 2019 team had its own story. … In baseball, you have to have your own organic story of everybody fitting in their role and coming together at the end.”