PHILADELPHIA — The Phillies have seen a ghost, and if things fall apart, they might see one again.
Pitcher Kodai Senga made his NL start against the Phillies on Saturday at Citizens Bank Park, and although he gave up one run in the 6-2 win, he was otherwise just as good as ever. He looked like himself.
The question will be whether Chiga can continue to improve on the spot with an eye-opening match.
After throwing 31 mostly effective pitches in his return from a calf strain in July and a sore triceps that appeared on September 21, Senga emerged as an attractive prospect for the Mets.
They used Chiga as a two-frame opener, giving the balls to David Peterson, Reid Garrett, Phil Mayton, and Ryne Stanek to finish off a well-pitched win.
“This puts us in a situation where we may be able to participate in matches in the future,” Chiga said through interpreter Hiro Fujiwara.
Will he be able to pitch again in this series — perhaps taking his customary five days off on Friday before a possible Game 5?
“If they call me, I'll just be ready to pitch that day,” Chiga said of the Mets, sounding impressed.
Chiga recovered from a shaky start and hit Kyle Schwarber with a leadoff bomb on the third pitch of the game.
The Phillies slugger smashed a fastball down the middle of the bat into the middle of the second deck in right, sparking a party among the capacity crowd.
“It was a disappointing pitch. I wish I could have gotten it back,'' Chiga said, adding that he had no regrets about the remaining 30 pitches.
He used a ghost fork ball to strike out Torrie Turner and JT Realmuto. He hit Nick Castellanos with a sharp slider.
The Schwarber bomb was the only hit Chiga allowed in a game in which he had one walk. His velocity was down slightly, but his fastball reached 97 miles per hour.
“He was really good,” coach Carlos Mendoza said. “The fact that I saw 97… [mph] I took it off him and all that was left was the second pitch. His splits were really good, his slider was good. ”
The Mets are scheduled to use Luis Severino for Game 2. The best bet would be to use Sean Manaea for Game 3 and Jose Quintana for Game 4 if necessary.
Perhaps they'll pivot to Peterson, who pitched three scoreless innings as a reliever, for a theoretical Game 5.
Maybe Tyler Megill will be dusted off.
Or Chiga might try three to four innings, throwing 45 to 50 pitches, in just his third start of the injury-plagued year.
“He's a big part of us,” Jose Iglesias said. “We're going to need him.”
