News cycles haven’t been particularly kind to the Mets of late as the team’s recent on-field struggles and other controversies have put manager Mickey Callaway, as well as the team’s first-year general manager, Brodie Van Wagenen, on the hot seat in the second month of the season.

• Gameday | Mets prospects stats

Down on the farm, however, left-hander Anthony Kay, the club’s first-round pick from the 2016 Draft out of the University of Connecticut, continues to be a bright spot for Double-A Binghamton as he surges toward the Major Leagues.

On Monday the Mets’ No. 7 prospect turned in what was perhaps the best start of his young career, firing seven hitless frames to lead the Rumble Ponies over Bowie, 3-0. He faced the minimum in the outing, striking out seven while throwing 58 of his 88 pitches for strikes.

Kay, 24, was perfect for the first five innings before he finally allowed a baserunner to reach via a leadoff walk in the sixth inning. He induced a line-drive double play to end the frame, then sandwiched his final strikeout of the game between a pair of groundouts during a clean seventh inning.

While the Rumble Ponies’ no-hit bid fell apart in the next frame, Kay and reliever Matt Blackman still combined to throw a one-hit shutout.

Kay has been one of the Eastern League’s better hurlers this season, ranking among the circuit leaders with a 1.07 ERA (second) and 0.77 WHIP (first) through nine starts. He's posted 52 strikeouts (fourth) against 17 walks in 50 2/3 innings while limiting hitters to a .130 average.

A 6-foot, 218-pound left-hander, Kay underwent Tommy John surgery after he signed with the Mets and didn’t make his professional debut until last season, when he compiled a 4.26 ERA with a 123/41 K/BB in 122 2/3 innings (23 starts) between Class A Advanced St. Lucie and Class A Columbia.