Kodai Senga struggles on four days' rest in Mets' loss to Blue Jays
Mets starting pitcher Kodai Senga walks to the dugout after the top of the second inning against the Blue Jays in an MLB game at Citi Field on Sunday. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
In his first start on the usual four days’ rest, Mets righthander Kodai Senga lasted only 2 2⁄3 innings against Toronto on Sunday. He was charged with four runs (three earned) and threw exactly half of his 68 pitches for balls.
Senga was spared a loss when the Mets rallied from a four-run deficit to tie it at 4 in the sixth inning. But Toronto scored twice in the seventh off reliever Dominic Leone to earn a 6-4 victory and sweep the three-game series.
Senga’s signature ghost fork was absent as all three of his strikeouts came on fastballs.
“There were a lot of times when their lineup would be taking my off-speed offerings,” Senga said through an interpreter. “There were obviously adjustments that I needed to make in-game.”
The Mets could have held back Senga until Tuesday and used a spot starter on Sunday, but manager Buck Showalter wanted to see how Senga — who pitched once a week in Japan — would fare in his first start on fewer than five days’ rest.
One outing after holding the Phillies to one soft single with nine strikeouts in seven shutout innings, he gave up four hits and walked five.
“The regular rest, in terms of the physical aspect, I think I did a pretty good job,” Senga said. “I don’t think it affected the results of the game.”
Senga’s home ERA entering Sunday was 1.20, compared to 6.12 on the road. That might have been part of the Mets’ calculus.
What’s undeniable after his first 11 starts is how Senga pitches with different days of rest. With six-plus (three starts), he has a 2.20 ERA; with five (seven starts), it’s 3.96. With four days, it’s 10.15 after Sunday.
Who knows when the Mets will try it again. Senga’s next scheduled start will come on five days’ rest on Saturday in Pittsburgh.
Extra bases
Catcher Omar Narvaez, eligible to come off the injured list on Tuesday when the Mets open a series in Atlanta, flew with the club after the game. Narvaez said he feels “100%” healed from the calf injury that has kept him out since April 6. The Mets will have three catchers unless they send Francisco Alvarez to Triple-A Syracuse or remove Tomas Nido from the roster. Nido has a guaranteed two-year, $3.7 million contract . . . Prospect Ronny Mauricio left Syracuse’s game on Sunday after suffering a sprained left ankle while trying to make a tag at second base. Mauricio walked off on his own. Earlier in the game, he hit his eighth home run . . . Stephen Ridings, the hard-throwing righthander from Commack, will begin a rehab assignment for Class A St. Lucie on Tuesday. Ridings, who appeared in five games for the Yankees in 2021, has been out since spring training with a right lat strain . . . Jose Quintana (left rib fracture), who has been with the Mets during this homestand, left for Port St. Lucie and is scheduled to throw live batting practice on Monday and Friday. The lefthander could graduate to a rehab start after that.
Anthony Rieber covers baseball, as well as the NFL, NBA and NHL. He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since July 5, 2004.
