It was a scene harking back to the one from final July: Kodai Senga, the Mets prized right-handed ace, was on the bottom in ache in the midst of what was in any other case an excellent outing. And very like final time, Senga might be happening the injured listing, this time with a strained proper hamstring.
Within the high of the sixth inning with the Mets attempting to complete off a sweep of the Washington Nationals on Thursday afternoon, C.J. Abrams hit a chopper to the left of the primary base bag. Pete Alonso made a superb cease and Senga ran over to cowl first base, however the throw was excessive from Alonso. He hit Senga on the run, with the pitcher leaping to make the seize and tag the bottom for the out.
However he got here down grabbing at his proper hamstring, and shortly crumpled to the bottom in ache.
The Mets (45-24) have been in a position to full the sweep, their second straight, with a 4-3 win at Citi Subject, nevertheless it was a bittersweet victory.
“It’s hard for me to speculate, but obviously we know he’s going to be down,” stated supervisor Carlos Mendoza. “As soon as he goes down like that and he grabs the hamstring like we saw last year, it’s unfortunate.”
The Mets gained’t know the extent of the harm till Friday, when Senga has imaging accomplished to find out the severity of the pressure.
Final season, Senga suffered a shoulder harm throughout spring coaching that sidelined him till late July. Lastly, he made his return July 26 to face the Atlanta Braves in an important division matchup, solely to come back off the mound with a left calf pressure within the sixth inning. He missed the rest of the common season, and although he did pitch within the postseason, he was clearly not at full-strength.
“[He’s] obviously frustrated, but I told him he’s going to be back, and he’s going to play an important role and be an important part of this team,” stated supervisor Carlos Mendoza. “So the main thing is waiting for the results to see what we’re dealing with, and then we’ll attack it, you know. And like I said, he’ll be back; he’s a competitor. It sucks that he’s got to go through it again, but hey, we’ll get him back.”
Alonso seemed as if he might burst into tears at any second, instantly working over to Senga and kneeling at his facet. The infield rallied across the first baseman in an try and console him. Senga had thrown 5 2/3 innings of one-hit ball, reducing his ERA to 1.47, undoubtedly on his solution to one other All-Star choice. Senga despatched his translator again to the dugout to guarantee Alonso that it wasn’t his fault, saying he felt the hamstring pull earlier than he leapt.
Nonetheless, Alonso took it tougher than anybody.
“I talked to him right away,” Mendoza stated. “As soon as the inning was over, I went up to him and said, ‘Hey man, it’s baseball, you know it happens.”
Jose Castillo got here in for Senga on Thursday and instantly gave up a single to Alex Wooden. Luis Garcia Jr. then hit a fly ball to the right-center subject warning observe, sending Tyrone Taylor sprinting. He dove proper on the fringe of the grass, getting full extension to make the catch, sliding a few foot on the warning observe filth as he landed.
“He’s really saved a lot of games and a lot of runs for us,” stated left fielder Brandon Nimmo. “Look at this game and how it ended up — we won by one run and that was extremely important there. It didn’t seem like it at the time, but I mean, what an amazing play, what an important play.”
Juan Soto raised his fists and pulled Taylor’s glove as much as salute the followers as they ran off the sphere. Francisco Lindor stood on the dugout steps ready to first-bump Taylor for yet one more unbelievable catch.
It helped safe Senga’s win (7-3). He walked just one batter and struck out 5 over, throwing solely 77 pitches.
“I hope he’s OK, but it sucks to see,” Taylor stated. “But we’re able to keep going and keep fighting and then finish off that game when they tried to make a little comeback there. So it was just good to get the win.”
Jeff McNeil noticed Senga an early 3-0 lead with a three-run homer off right-hander Michael Soroka (3-4) within the backside of the primary inning, his fourth in 5 video games. Nimmo hit his third house run in lower than 24 hours to make it 4-0 within the backside of the fifth.
The bullpen was rested and prepared after David Peterson threw a whole recreation one night time prior, however Ryne Stanek and Edwin Diaz struggled within the ninth inning, with the Nats (30-38) scoring three runs, almost coming again to tie it. Three runs have been charged to Stanek, with Diaz permitting two inherited runners to attain.
The Mets are insulted sufficient that Senga’s loss gained’t be as devastating for the workforce because it was final season, nevertheless it’s devastating for a pitcher who labored so exhausting to return to full energy this season.
“He’s pitching so, so amazing, and he’s working so hard,” Nimmo stated. “You hate to see him go down. You just feel for him.”
Initially Printed: June 12, 2025 at 4:15 PM EDT
