Kodai

Senga

Usually, when a pitcher only gives up one run over six innings in Coors Field, that’s good enough to win the game. However, the Mets offense didn’t wake up until the seventh inning so Senga had to settle for a no-decision despite another tremendous outing. He leaned on his renowned ghost-fork, throwing it nearly twice as much as any other offering. Its 47% usage rate is the most he’s ever thrown it during a single start in his career. It still forced 14 swings-and-misses as Senga used it to work out of trouble on more than a few occasions. His next start is scheduled to come at home against the Nationals.

Senga gave up a first-inning homer to Ezequiel Tovar and then retired 17 in a row until the seventh, when he walked two and allowed an RBI single. That meant his ERA climbed today, increasing from 1.46 to 1.60, so consider that a rare positive accomplishment for the Rockies offense on the road. Senga will face the team again, this time in Coors, next weekend.

Senga walked four and punched out five opposing hitters in the contest. He served up a leadoff solo homer to Shohei Ohtani, then blanked the vaunted Dodgers’ offense for the remainder of his evening. The 32-year-old right-hander generated seven swings and misses on 101 pitches on the evening, registering a CSW of 28 percent. Now 5-3 on the season, he’ll carry a brilliant 1.46 ERA, 1.24 WHIP and a 52/26 K/BB ratio (55 2/3 innings) into a premium matchup against the Rockies at home on Saturday.

Even an off night for Senga still rates as a quality start. He came into this one having allowed eight runs — five earned — in 44 1/3 innings this season. In spite of that, he’s currently carrying just a 4-3 record to go along with his 1.43 ERA. He’ll face the Dodgers next.

Senga gave up six hits, walked two and struck out seven. The 32-year-old right-hander got the first two outs of the sixth inning before allowing a single to Alexander Canario and a double to Jared Triolo. With the Mets up 1-0, Senga was removed for Reed Garrett, who walked the next two batters to tie the game and blow the win for Senga. Senga has a 1.22 ERA on the year, but his 4.17 xFIP suggests that isn’t going to last much longer. Senga is lined up to face the Red Sox on the road next week.

Senga struggled mightily with his control in this one, matching a career-high with five free passes, but the walks didn’t come back to haunt him, somehow. He finished with four strikeouts and managed to limit Arizona’s high-powered offense to just a pair of hits over six strong frames. The 32-year-old righty has allowed two earned runs or fewer in each of his seven starts to open the season, resulting in a microscopic 1.16 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 35/17 K/BB ratio across 38 2/3 innings of work. He’ll square off against the Pirates at home on Tuesday in his next outing.

The rather stressful four innings saw him throw 87 pitches while allowing five hits, walking three and striking out six, and given that he’s yet to throw 100 pitches this season, he wasn’t allowed to go back out for the fifth. Senga’s ERA rose slightly to 1.38 today. He’ll face the Diamondbacks again, this time in Arizona, next week.

The Nationals stacked their lineup with eight left-handed batters and Senga still managed to cut right through them. He didn’t force tons of swings-and-misses, but consistently challenged the opposing hitters and rarely fell behind in the count. There was a point from the third inning after CJ Abrams hit a run-scoring triple with no outs where Senga stranded him on third and went on to retire 11 batters in a row. He seemed to hit a stride in those middle innings too. His fastball reached 98 mph for the first time this season and his patented ghost fork was dancing below the zone. He also meaningfully introduced his sinker in this game for the first time all season. The only problem was a lack of run support. He now has a sterling 1.26 ERA on the season and will look to stay on track in his next scheduled start against the Diamondbacks.

Senga was excellent against the Cardinals, blanking them into the sixth. He stranded two runners in the second inning, then was relieved with two runners on and two outs in the sixth at 89 pitches. He struck out four. The 32-year-old right-hander has not allowed a run in three straight starts, taking a 0.79 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, and a 20/7 K/BB ratio across 22 2/3 innings into a road matchup against the Nationals on Friday.

Senga only had four strikeouts today, but despite giving up 11 hard-hit balls, he had it pretty easy throughout. The A’s managed only five total bases off him and helped him out with a couple of double play balls. Senga is now 2-1 with a 1.06 ERA. His next start will come either Friday or Saturday against the Cardinals; his turn is due Friday, but the Mets don’t like to pitch him on four days’ rest and could opt for a spot start sometime this week.