Senga Provided High Velocity Against Reds For Home Runs That Went Out Just As Fast

The New York Mets tried to get starter Kodai Senga back on track last night, and it didn’t go well. Senga managed to hit 97 mph last night against the Cincinnati Reds, according to Anthony DiComo of MLB.com, but that velocity only provided the impetus for a couple of home runs that left the yard just as quickly. 

As DiComo noted, it only took Senga three hitters to lose this game. Two walks and a Sal Stewart home run made it 3-0, and the Reds added another run in the inning on a homer by Spencer Steer as they went on to beat the Mets, 5-3.

Manager Carlos Mendoza had to once again watch his team get behind big in the first inning, and he’s been reduced to variations on the same comments about his pitchers.

“Obviously the first three batters of the game, not ideal,”  Mendoza said. “They got him there early on.”

The good news, as DiComo characterized it, was that Senga hit 97.9 mph on the gun after missing almost two months to lumbar spine inflammation. But DiComo also noted that Senga often seemed to have no idea where those fastballs were going early in the game. 

Senga’s comments after his starts are always a bit of a wild card, but this time he at least acknowledged the obvious. 

“First time back out there on a big league mound in a little while, I just wasn’t able to gather it all together in the beginning,” Senga said through an interpreter. He also stated that “my condition was good, my feel was good.”

That part about the “feel” sounds close to delusional, and catcher Francisco Alvarez chipped in on that front by saying that Senga’s stuff was the best he’d seen from the right-hander all season. That actually might be accurate, though, given the way Senga has been pounded in some of his starts. 

The most amazing thing about this is that the Mets “figure to continue rolling” with a group that included Sean Manaea and David Peterson to go with Senga, Freddy Peralta and Nolan McLean, according to DiComo. If the goal here is to establish a last-place formula, consider the mission accomplished. 

Meanwhile, Senga continue a version of what he can do that has little to do with reality. 

“As long as I’m able to prepare the way I should prepare between outings, I should be able to go out there and be effective,” Senga said. “That’s the goal here. … That’s certainly something that I’m striving for.”