Senga (4-3) took the loss against the Cubs on Wednesday, allowing three runs on six hits and five walks while striking out six batters over five innings.
Senga pitched on six days of rest, as this start was pushed from Tuesday to Wednesday. The right-hander began with two scoreless frames before surrendering a trio of runs on a walk and three hits -- including two doubles -- in the third. Senga was able to bounce back with two more scoreless innings, but he racked up 106 pitches by the end of the fifth and didn't go any further. The relatively short outing was largely due to his troubles finding the zone -- he threw 41 balls and walked a season-high five batters. Free passes have been the biggest concern for the Japanese hurler this season, as he's issued at least three walks in all but one of his nine starts. Senga has somewhat minimized the damage from the control issues with an excellent 11.4 K/9, but he's completed six innings only three times and sports an uninspiring 1.52 WHIP.
Senga's next start has been pushed from Tuesday to Wednesday, Tim Healey of Newsday reports.
The idea here is to prevent Senga from having to pitch on normal rest Sunday at Coors Field. He's been getting extra rest between every start this season as he acclimates from the scheduling norms over in Nippon Professional Baseball. There are no injury concerns with the 30-year-old righty, who racked up a career-high 12 strikeouts across six innings of one-run ball last week against the Rays. He'll face the Cubs at Wrigley Field on Wednesday, with Tylor Megill getting the call Tuesday. Senga will then handle the Mets' series opener next week versus the Phillies.
Mets' Kodai Senga: Racks up 12 punchouts Wednesday
Rotowire
Senga allowed one run on three hits and three walks while striking out 12 batters over six innings in a no-decision against Tampa Bay on Wednesday.
Senga bounced back nicely after a poor start his previous time out, inducing 18 swings-and-misses against the Rays and establishing a season-high mark with 12 strikeouts. The Japanese hurler yielded just one run, but the Mets were shut out until the seventh, preventing him from picking up his fifth win. Senga has adapted pretty well to pitching in MLB, posting a 3.77 ERA, 1.44 WHIP and 55:26 K:BB through 43 innings.
Senga (4-2) took the loss against Cincinnati on Thursday, allowing five runs on eight hits and one walk while striking out seven batters over five innings.
That Senga was able to give the Mets five frames may be considered a small moral victory after he was tagged for five hits and four runs in the first inning. The right-hander settled in from there and yielded just one more run, but New York's offense couldn't push anything across the plate in the shutout loss. Both the five runs and eights hits were season-worst marks for Senga, who was coming off six scoreless innings against Colorado in his previous start. His season ERA now sits at 4.14, and he's posted a 43:23 K:BB over 37 frames.
