Kodai Senga’s season debut did not end well on Friday night at Citi Field.
Senga, in the sixth inning of the New York Mets’ 8-4 victory over the Atlanta Braves, suddenly stood up in pain while chasing an infield fly ball from the mound. Senga fell to the field while holding his left calf, grimacing, as Pete Alonso caught Austin Riley’s fly ball for the out.
Eventually Senga limped off the field and returned to the bench. His night was over.
Kodai Senga left tonight’s match with a strained left calf. An absolutely brutal blow, but one that is the best possible scenario nonetheless. image.twitter.com/04yalpc5Yg
— MetsMuse (@MetsMuse) July 27, 2024
Senga has been diagnosed with a strain in his left calf. It is unclear how serious the injury is or how long he will be sidelined. Senga will undergo an MRI on Saturday.
“He dominated today,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. via ESPN“You hate to see him fall like that.”
Senga finished with nine strikeouts in five-plus innings Friday night in the win. He allowed two hits and two runs, giving him a 3.38 ERA on the night. The 31-year-old missed the first half of the season after suffering a shoulder injury in May. He has been recovering since.
Senga, who was the NL Rookie of the Year runner-up last season, was 12-7 with a 2.98 ERA in 29 starts with the Mets in 2023.
The Mets rallied from a 2-0 deficit with a wild third inning on Friday. J.D. Martinez hit a grand slam to start the inning, giving the Mets the lead. Mark Vientos and Francisco Alvarez hit home runs that put New York up 7-2. Although Marcell Ozuna and Adam Duvall hit solo homers later in the night for the Braves, it was too little too late. The Mets held on for the four-run victory.
The win marked the Mets’ fifth straight. It moved them to 55-48 on the season, their best record above .500 this year, and put them ahead of the Braves in the race for the NL’s top wild-card spot. They are nine games behind the Philadelphia Phillies in the NL East.
