On Sunday afternoon, for the first time this season, a Mets starter pitched into the seventh inning.
Even more incredible? It was Kodai Senga who missed almost the entire 2024 season and who New York has been inching along this year.
But thanks to an aggressive Athletics squad, some quick outs and two fortuitous double plays, Senga outdueled former Met Luis Severino and pitched seven scoreless innings as the Mets beat the A’s, 8-0, in the series finale.
After the game, manager Carlos Mendoza was asked if he was tempted to send Senga back out there after an incredibly efficient 79 pitches.
“I thought about it,” Mendoza said with a smile. “But we’ve been keeping him at five innings the whole time and it’s already a big jump at seven innings. We were looking at 85 pitches and after that long inning because of the offense… I thought that was enough for him.”
In his previous two starts – both against the Miami Marlins – Senga went five innings each time, allowing two earned runs over 10 innings. With his seven scoreless against a team not from Miami (for now, at least), the Japanese right-hander now owns a miniscule 1.06 ERA.
While those numbers look great, what’s most important is how Senga feels following every start as he continues to work his way back to regular season form. By his own admission, he’s still only “80-90 percent” to where he wants to be, but Sunday’s start was a reminder of just how dominant he can be when he gets there.
“I think it’s a great stepping stone to get my body to adapt so I can throw further into the game and continuously throughout the season,” Senga said through an interpreter. “There are things throughout the game that I wish I could do better, but at the same time things are feeling a lot better so I’m getting close.”
If seven scoreless innings on 79 pitches is Senga “getting close”, the Mets can’t wait to see what’s in store for their starting pitcher when he’s 100 percent.
For now, Senga will continue his process and try to keep the momentum going. Part of that also means trying to get on the same page as Luis Torrens who has only caught Senga twice in his career, making Senga’s outing that much more impressive.
“I feel great throwing to him,” Senga said about Torrens. “Second game throwing to him and it’s definitely better and I think it’s gonna continue to get better. The conversations we’re having in the dugout between innings is great and I think the more I throw to him, the more he’s gonna understand how I throw and the more I’m gonna understand him. I think it’s a good chemistry.”
With Francisco Alvarezcurrently rehabbing from hand surgery but still out, Torrens will continue to be New York’s starting catcher with Hayden Senger as the backup which means Sunday was a good sign.
As for Torrens, who went 3-for-4 with a double and two RBI on Sunday, the veteran catcher was “proud” of Senga’s performance and wants all of his pitchers to succeed.
“I feel good when the pitching does well,” he said.
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