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The Mets plan to use Kodai Senga in Friday’s Game 5 of the NLCS against the Los Angeles Dodgers, manager Carlos Mendoza said on Wednesday.
While the manager said they had not determined in what capacity they would use the right-hander, SNY MLB Insider Andy Martino reports that the Mets are “trending toward” starting Senga in that game.
Senga had a rough outing in the series opener on Sunday, and the troubles were apparent right from the start.
After getting Shohei Ohtani out to lead off the game on two pitches, the right-hander then threw 12 of his next 14 pitches out of the strike zone to walk the bases loaded. Overall, he lasted just 1.1 innings and allowed three runs on two hits and four walks while throwing just 10 strikes out of 30 pitches in the Mets’ 9-0 loss.
On Tuesday’s off day, Mendoza said that as of then “everything is fine” with Senga physically.
“He’s gonna go out there and play catch and we’ll see what we got,” he said.
With Senga having an injury-ravaged campaign, Mendoza said Wednesday he didn’t expect the righy to be available after he sustained a calf injury during his start in late July.
“We’re in the playoffs,” Mendoza said, via Newsday. “I never thought that he was going to be a player for us… And now, because of where we’re at, you’re going to need somebody to start the game. He’s an ace.”
And despite the tough outing to open the series, the manager is sticking with Senga in the face of some doubts.
“Why are we pitching him? He’s an ace, man,” Mendoza said. “This is a guy that we saw making a start [in July] and he was lights out. He pitched against the Phillies [in the NLDS] and when he was throwing 96, 97 [mph], it was one pitch that [Kyle] Schwarber got him but other than that he was pretty good.
“Then we’re reacting off one outing that he didn’t have it. So I’m pretty confident giving him the ball.”
Pitching in Friday’s Game 5 would be four days rest, normal for a starting pitcher in MLB but not what the Mets had typically done for Senga who had usually gotten an extra day of rest, after coming over from Japan where starting pitchers usually only pitch once per week.
The lack of rest could be an issue for Senga who did not have the normal velocity in Game 1. The righty threw 16 cutters with a 90.5 mph average velocity, 1.8 mph below his season average. And on his seven four-seam fastballs, the 93.5 mph average was 2.3 mph below his season average (and 2.2 mph below his average during the 2023 season).
Senga said “a lot of factors” went into his lack of command, and pointed to an issue with his mechanics that also impacted his velocity.
When asked on Sunday if he could fix those issues with his mechanics in time before Friday, Senga said his job “is to adjust and focus on what I need to do to make the next outing better.”
In his 2.0 inning start of Game 1 of the NLDS in Philadelphia, he allowed one hit (a leadoff home run) and one walk with three strikeouts on 31 pitches (18 strikes).
On that day, Senga threw 13 four-seam fastballs with a 94.3 mph average velocity and registered five whiffs and five called strikes, he recorded zero whiffs or called strikes against the Dodgers.
For the Mets, getting something out of Senga, who missed all but one start during the regular season due to a run of bad luck injuries, would be a huge bonus. Especially as the strength of the starting rotation has been one of the big reasons the Mets made the postseason and have advanced this far.
“Their ability to go deep in games and giving us an opportunity to win baseball games and just be more flexible and give guys from the bullpen a breather,” Mendoza said of the starters, before adding, “With baseball, it comes down to starting pitching, that’s where it starts. It starts on the mound.”
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