In Game 1 of the National League Championship Series, the New York Mets’ bold move to use Kodai Senga backfired spectacularly, endangering their entire pitching strategy for the best-of-seven series.
Senga walked four of the ten batters he faced on Sunday because he lacked command of his deliveries right away. Two RBI singles by Max Muncy and Shohei Ohtani brought three of them around to score.
Senga pitched just 10 of his 30 pitches for strikes during his 1 1/3 inning of relief.
Senga has only made two starts this year, one of which was in the NLDS Game 1; New York had hoped he could pitch at least three frames.
The Mets had tabbed Senga their Game 1 starter even with Sean Manaea and Luis Severino available on regular rest. They wanted to keep Senga as close to his normal routine as possible.
It is obvious that did not work. Even though Senga had periodically had control issues in the beginning of his first season in 2023, he had never appeared to be this lost on the mound. He struck out Ohtani to open the game, then proceeded to walk the next three Dodgers on 14 pitches. Muncy scored two runs when he lined a 2-1 cutter into center field with two outs.
The Mets decided to stick with Senga for a second inning despite that unsteady start. That inning began with him walking Kiké Hernández on five pitches; Ohtani’s ground ball single to right with one out brought Hernández home. That is when Carlos Mendoza ended Senga’s suffering.
“He definitely didn’t have it today,” Mendoza said via the Fox broadcast. “We didn’t see that extra zip on his fastball, and the split were balls out of the hand.”
Senga threw his trademark forkball four times; it wasn’t competitive in any of them.
Severino will start Game 3, Jose Quintana will start Game 4, and Senga will return for Game 5, even though the Mets have not committed to a rotation beyond Manaea in Game 2. It is interesting to consider whether Senga’s performance in Game 5 is in doubt given how awful this start was. Tylor Megill and David Peterson, who relieved for Senga on Sunday, are the Mets’ backup relievers in case they need to start.
Senga, the ace of the Mets going into the season, started just once throughout the regular season. Due to a shoulder ailment, he missed the first four months of play and sustained a major calf strain on his first playback. In Game 1 of the NLDS, he made a brief comeback to start the game, giving up a leadoff home run but otherwise giving up no more as the Mets rallied to win 6-2.
When the opposition scores first in the postseason, New York is 4-0 so far.
(Photo of Kodai Senga after the first inning: Harry How / Getty Images)
