NEW YORK -- Whenever Kodai Senga records a strikeout at Citi Field, the scoreboard displays his name in a 1990s-style rainbow font, based on the logo of Sega, the video game company. This is because, of course, ¡°Senga¡± looks an awful lot like ¡°Sega.¡±
It¡¯s fitting, then, that to open the 2025 season, Senga¡¯s numbers look an awful lot like a video game.
Four starts in, after throwing 5 2/3 scoreless innings in a 3-0 win over the Cardinals at Citi Field on Saturday afternoon, Senga¡¯s ERA sits at 0.79, leading the National League and second in the Majors behind only former Met Chris Bassitt (0.77). He allowed four runs (two earned) in his first start of the season on April 1 and has thrown 18 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings, which includes the last frame of his first start. His WHIP is 0.97, best among Mets starters by a sizable margin.
Against St. Louis, Senga leaned heavily on his four-seamer and ghost forkball, with the duo making up 74% of his pitch mix. He struck out four -- all swinging, all at the ghost fork -- and allowed three hits and two walks. His fastball averaged 95 mph, a tick above his season average.
¡°We saw a different pitcher today -- I¡¯m talking about pitch usage -- compared to what he did against Oakland,¡± said manager Carlos Mendoza. ¡°I thought today the four-seam was the biggest weapon. The four-seam in the strike zone to go along with the split.¡±
That game, Senga leaned much more heavily on his cutter, with fastball usage at 29%. Against St. Louis, he threw his cutter only eight times. But there¡¯s one constant in every Senga start, try as opponents might to adapt to it: his dastardly signature pitch.
¡°Every team, every hitter is looking for the forkball,¡± Senga said through interpreter Hiro Fujiwara. But it works, so he and catcher Luis Torrens stuck with it: ¡°Torrens just called a great game, and I was able to answer him a little.¡±
His outing wasn¡¯t without its bumps -- the Cardinals put men in scoring position in the second, fifth and sixth -- but Senga escaped each time. He had help from Brett Baty, who threw out Thomas Saggese at the plate despite playing back on the infield in the fifth, and Reed Garrett, who secured a groundout to end the sixth.
All in all, despite holding St. Louis scoreless, Senga said he ¡°got lucky again.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t really feel like my pitches are getting them out,¡± he said. ¡°They¡¯re making contact, and my fielders are doing a great job behind me ¡ I don¡¯t think I¡¯m quite there yet. The pitches that are actually coming out of my hand and what I¡¯m imagining them to look like, there¡¯s still a little bit of a difference.¡±
Coming off a 2024 season almost entirely lost to injury, it¡¯s easy to forget Senga¡¯s superb rookie campaign in 2023. He dazzled opponents to the tune of a 12-7 record and a 2.98 ERA, finishing second in the NL Rookie of the Year voting and seventh in the Cy Young race.
He¡¯s still working to return to that 2023 form, which saw him average 10.9 strikeouts per nine innings, including five double-digit strikeout games.
¡°Getting used to the speed at which I¡¯m throwing, going deeper into games, I think my body will slowly adapt, and hopefully I will get closer and get to that form,¡± Senga said. ¡°The more I throw, that difference between what I imagine and what¡¯s actually coming out slowly starts to unfold little by little. So staying healthy, staying out on the field is the big thing.¡±
Two off-balance outings in the 2024 NLCS likely left a bitter taste in Senga¡¯s mouth heading into the offseason, but if he can continue building on his early-season success, the 2025 Mets may have exactly what the 2024 club missed out on when Senga went down: a bona fide ace.
¡°It doesn¡¯t matter who we¡¯re facing -- if they¡¯ve got an ace, we feel good about our chances when he takes the ball,¡± Mendoza said. ¡°And that¡¯s what you¡¯re looking for, that¡¯s what you want. He¡¯s someone who¡¯s going to match the best of the best.¡±