It tells you how far the expectations have fallen for Kodai Senga that Tuesday’s night’s performance in the Mets’ 5-3 loss to the Reds can be looked at as mildly encouraging.
He walked the first two batters he faced, then Sal Stewart hit an 88 mph sinker 410 feet to left field to give the Reds (35-37) a 3-0 lead. Three batters later in the first, Spencer Steer hit a 95 mph fastball for a solo homer. The encouraging part began from there. He retired nine of the last 11 he faced, including four on strikeouts.
“I noticed that they weren’t swinging at much down in the zone, so pivoted over to the slider, threw a lot of sliders, and that was effective,” Senga (0-5) told reporters through a Japanese interpreter. “Because those last three innings were effective, that first inning was frustrating.”
It was Senga’s first major-league action since landing on the injured list with lumbar spine inflammation in late April. He threw 46 of 82 pitches for strikes, walked four, struck out five and the two homers were the only hits he allowed. His ERA remained at 9.00. He has surrendered 24 earned runs in 24 innings pitched.
It tells you how desperate the state of the Mets’ rotation is that Carlos Mendoza is “pretty sure” Senga will take his next turn.
“I mean I got to talk to David (Stearns) and the pitching coaches, but pretty sure he will,” Mendoza said. The Mets (32-41) are 22nd in the league in starter ERA (4.58).
A year and five days ago, Senga earned his last win and dropped his ERA to 1.47. But he left that game with a right hamstring strain after leaping to catch a high throw from Pete Alonso on a play at first. He is still trying to find his way.
“As long as I’m able to prepare the way I should prepare in between outings, I should be able to go out there and be effective and that’s the goal,” Senga said.
