Mets starter Kodai Senga pitches 2 innings in Game 1 of NLDS against Phillies

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Kodai Senga pitched two innings Saturday in only his second start of the season, throwing 31 pitches for the New York Mets in Game 1 of the NL Division Series against Philadelphia.

Senga allowed Kyle Schwarber's leadoff home run on the third pitch of the game and left with the Mets down 1-0. Senga struck out three and walked one; Schwarber's homer was the only hit he allowed.

Senga had thrown just 5 1/3 major league innings all year before he was named by Mets manager Carlos Mendoza the surprise starter for the NLDS opener.

“I thought he was actually pretty good," Mendoza told Fox entering the fourth inning. "Other than that fastball that Schwarber took him deep, he was really good. Up to 97 (mph), the split was really good, had depth to it, the slider was good, threw strikes. I was pretty pleased with that outing.”

The Japanese star joined the Mets ahead of the 2023 season on a $75 million, five-year contract and became an All-Star in his first season. He went 12-7 with a 2.98 ERA in 29 starts and finished second in NL Rookie of the Year voting.

But the 31-year-old made just one start this season as he dealt with injuries that included tightness in his right triceps. The team’s projected No. 1 starter this year, Senga also was sidelined by a strained left calf.

“The rehab process, it’s been up and down, but recently it’s definitely been turning the right direction, and to bring me to this point it’s definitely gone well,” Senga said Friday through an interpreter.

David Peterson, who earned his first career save in New York's NL Wild Card Series clincher against Milwaukee, pitched the third inning.

Mendoza, in his first season as Mets manager, declined before the game to say how long he would let Senga go in Game 1 — or if it all the rest of the series.

“I think we have an idea of what we want to do here. And I’m going to have to make a decision,” Mendoza said. “I’ll talk to him, I’ll ask him. We have an idea of what we’re doing there. Hopefully we get to a point where that relationship continues to develop and there’s more conversation, kind of like what I have with the starters, that I have the whole year, and I know when to push and when not to. I don’t think I’m there with Senga.”

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Dan Gelston, The Associated Press