Senga Reflects on Performance Against Braves
Kodai Senga mentioned that his game against the Braves was the best he’d felt since coming off the 15-day injured list last month. However, by the sixth inning, things started to unravel a bit for him. He seemed to lose the edge that had marked his earlier innings.
After walking Matt Olson and letting Drake Baldwin hit a single, Senga faced trouble when Michael Harris II sent a sharp grounder that put runners on first and third base. Mets manager Carlos Mendoza opted to take Senga out and turn the game over to the bullpen.
While Senga managed to be the first Mets starter in over a week to pitch five innings, the relief pitchers couldn’t secure a win, resulting in a 4-3 loss that concluded a series against Atlanta at Citi Field.
“In that moment—93 pitches, I felt pretty good about my arms,” Mendoza said when he was questioned about pulling Senga, especially since it would be the fourth time he faced a home run. He added that overall, Senga pitched really well.
The Mets were hoping for a positive takeaway from this series of losses, and Senga did bring a glimmer of hope during a rather tough pitching stretch.
But still, Senga, who hasn’t pitched more than six innings since June 6, had to watch from the sidelines as Albies hit an RBI single, giving the Braves a 2-1 lead.
“I think it comes down to what we could’ve done better,” Senga said through a translator when asked about facing Albies. “I was aware of his previous batting, so I threw a fastball, but he was ready for it. If things had been different, maybe I would’ve gotten that last batter.”
Even though Senga finished the fifth inning at just 74 pitches, he couldn’t continue the Mets’ starting pitcher’s five-game winning streak.
In 5²/₃ innings, he allowed five hits with two runners on base, walked one batter, struck out seven, and gave up one home run. Out of 93 pitches, 61 were strikes.
“I managed to throw all the pitches I wanted to, manipulating them as needed,” Senga reflected after the bullpen took over. “I feel like I was competing at a good level with the batters. If we keep this up, I think I can put together some solid outings moving forward.”
