Kodai Senga leaves game with hamstring strain as Mets sweep Nationals
New York Mets pitcher Kodai Senga reacts after an apparent injury during the sixth inning against the Washington Nationals on Thursday. Credit: AP/Pamela Smith
This was a victory that came with a cost.
The Mets completed their sweep of Washington Thursday afternoon by holding on through a ninth-inning rally by the Nationals for a 4-3 victory before 39,779 at Citi Field. However, any joy about a sixth straight win — and 15th in 18 games — or about Jeff McNeil’s three-run homer in the first inning was badly dampened by concerns for starting pitcher Kodai Senga and the right hamstring strain that will put him on the injured list.
Manager Carlos Mendoza said Senga will have an MRI on Friday.
“We’ll see the severity of it, but he’s going to be on the IL,” Mendoza said. “We’ve just got to wait and see what we’re dealing with.”
Senga was pitching a one-hit shutout in the sixth inning when he had to cover first base on CJ Abrams’ ground ball to the right side. Senga arrived at the base in time to make the play, but Pete Alonso’s throw was high and the righthander had to jump to make the catch and simultaneously reach for the bag with his right foot.
He got the out, but immediately grabbed at his right hamstring and went tumbling to the grass in foul territory in obvious pain. Alonso took a knee nearby, clearly distraught thinking his high throw was the cause.
Senga sent word through his translator from the clubhouse to Alonso after the inning that he’d felt the hamstring grab at the end of his dash to the base and before he jumped for the high throw. Mendoza explained, “He said he felt it on the last stride before he had to jump.”
“I still feel awful,” Alonso said. “Just trying to make a baseball play, just trying to make a play for my pitcher, and I tried to make the best throw I could . . . Whatever. We got the out, but at what cost? It doesn’t feel good.”
Senga on Thursday was continuing what has been a superlative season with 5 2⁄3 innings of shutout pitching. He entered the game leading the NL in earned run average and lowered it to 1.47 while picking up the win to improve to 7-3 in 13 starts. This was the ninth time this season he allowed one run or less.
It’s been a great rebound from his injury-riddled 2024 season. Senga missed the first four months with a shoulder issue, returned to the rotation and suffered a calf strain in his first and only regular-season start. He did make three postseason appearances.
“You hate to see anybody go down, especially a guy like [that] after what he went through last year,” Mendoza said.
Senga retired 15 of the last 16 Nationals he faced, allowed one walk, struck out five and left with the Mets ahead 4-0. After Jose Castillo and Huascar Brazoban carried the shutout to the ninth — with the help of a run-saving diving catch by centerfielder Tyrone Taylor — things got dicey for the Mets.
Ryne Stanek came in and gave up three straight hits and Mendoza went to closer Edwin Diaz. He allowed two inherited runners to score before finishing the job for his 15th save.
The Mets are now a season-best 21 games over .500 and their 45-24 record is the best in baseball.
Though Washington starter Michael Soroka had issued only seven walks in his seven previous starts, Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto worked walks to set the stage for McNeil’s two-out, 342-foot home run to right.
McNeil is in a torrid hitting stretch with a .299/.385/.612 slash line over his last 20 games with five home runs — four in the past five — and 15 RBIs.
“Sometimes you get on some hot streaks and you ride them as long as you possibly can,” Brandon Nimmo said of McNeil. “He’s swinging the bat well right now and we love it.”
Nimmo hit a solo home run off the rightfield foul pole with one out in the fifth, his 13th of the season and third in two games.
Senga’s injury is a big blow, but the Mets might be in a situation to persevere. Paul Blackburn is in the bullpen after a strong start when the Mets used six starters in the last rotation turn. And Frankie Montas, on the IL all season with a lat strain, is on a minor-league rehab assignment and may need only one more start before returning to the active roster. Sean Manaea has been on the IL all season with an oblique injury and is also on a rehab assignment, though slightly behind Montas on the road back.
“We’ve got people coming and the guys that are healthy now and they will continue to step up,” Mendoza said. “We feel good with our chances and with the guys that we’ve got in the room. Every team deals with it. We have to keep going. We’ll get [Senga] back.”
Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.
