MIAMI — This was the place it began for Kodai Senga two years in the past. A heralded veteran out of Japan making his MLB debut, Senga kicked off a stellar season with a win over the Miami Marlins, showcasing the notorious “ghost fork” that everybody in baseball had been speaking about.
Senga’s journey again to the Miami mound wasn’t straightforward. He pitched solely 10 1/3 innings over the course of the 2024 calendar yr, with 5 of these innings coming within the postseason, when it wasn’t clear if he was even prepared for aggressive motion after a yr of battling a shoulder harm and a calf pressure. His first outing of 2025 wasn’t essentially straightforward for him both, with the Marlins taking 4 runs (two earned) off of him in a 4-2 loss Tuesday night time at LoanDepot Park.
Nonetheless, it was a giant second for the Mets to have their ace again. He confronted Miami’s personal ace Sandy Alcantara, the most effective within the Nationwide League, and had it not been for a ball that took dangerous hops on Francisco Lindor, they might have been toe-to-toe all the approach. They every went 5 innings and allowed a pair of earned runs. Alcantara struck out 4 and didn’t permit a single stroll in 70 pitches, whereas Senga struck out eight and walked one utilizing 77 pitches.
The Marlins (4-2) jumped on Senga instantly within the first inning, with leadoff hitter Xavier Edwards doubling and Kyle Stowers hitting a two-run homer earlier than the right-hander even recorded an out. However Brandon Nimmo hit his second residence run in as many nights to guide off the second inning to chop the lead. Luisangel Acuña hit a ground-rule double within the third and a one-out single by Lindor despatched him residence to even the rating at 2-2.
Senga (0-1) countered by retiring the aspect so as within the backside of the third, and Alcantara (1-0) did the identical to the Mets within the high of the fourth. However within the backside of the inning, Otto Lopez hit a tough grounder to Lindor at shortstop, and the ball kicked off his glove. It was just like what occurred within the backside of the second, when Dane Myers hit a chopper to Lindor. He charged the ball within the grime but it surely bounced proper off of the glove.
Myers was then caught stealing to finish the inning. However the Mets couldn’t get across the fourth-inning error.
Senga struck out Matt Mervis for the primary out, and Griffin Conine grounded right into a force-out for the second. Jonah Bride labored the rely full earlier than getting ball 4, and Graham Pauley cleared the bases with a deep double to left discipline.
Mervis additionally had a ball bounce off of his glove within the high of the seventh, when Jesse Winker took a two-out, 2-1 sinker from Ronny Henriquez down the road on the correct aspect. Luis Torrens, who got here into the competition with three extra-base hits in his first 4 video games of the season, hit a deep fly to heart discipline, but it surely was in need of a house run. Myers camped out beneath for the third out.
Max Kranick held the Fish scoreless the remainder of the best way, giving the Mets an opportunity to return again. They put two on with one out within the ninth in opposition to Anthony Veneziano, a rookie right-hander from New Jersey, however the Marlins then went to the bullpen for right-hander Anthony Bender to counter Mark Vientos.
However Vientos hit one on to Conine in proper discipline, and Winker hit a grounder to first base.
The collection is tied 1-1, and concludes Wednesday afternoon with right-hander Clay Holmes dealing with right-hander Connor Gillispie, the final of six straight highway video games to begin the season for the Amazin’s.
