Kodai Senga of the New York Mets pitches during the first inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves, July 26, 2024, in New York.
12:53 JST, October 5, 2024
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Kodai Senga, who has thrown just 5 1/3 Major League innings all year, will be the surprise Game 1 starter for the New York Mets when they open the NL Division Series against the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday.
Senga joined the Mets on a five-year, $75 million contract ahead of the 2023 season and became an All-Star in his first season. He went 12-7 with a 2.98 ERA in 29 starts and finished second in the NL Rookie of the Year voting.
The 31-year-old Japanese pitcher made just one start this season as he battled injuries, including tightness in his right triceps. Senga, the team’s projected No. 1 starter this year, was also sidelined with a left calf strain.
I think if I thought it was difficult, I wouldn’t be ready for it, Senga said through an interpreter on Friday. “So I’m ready for tomorrow. And as much as I can control my body and determine how the race goes tomorrow, it will be big.
Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said before a Game 1 practice at Citizens Bank Park that Senga is “ready to go” but declined to say how many pitches his starter could throw.
We always had hope, Mendoza said. ‘But it’s been like this all year. What made us feel comfortable with this decision was that he was the one who wanted the baseball.”
Pete Alonso used a dose of pumpkin power Thursday to hit a three-run homer off closer Devin Williams in the ninth inning, putting the Mets ahead for good in a 4-2 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers in the decisive third game of their Wild Card Series.
The rehabilitation process has had its ups and downs, but things have definitely been moving in the right direction lately, and to bring me to this point, it’s definitely gone well, Senga said.
