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Senga’s First Two With Mets Looked Fine

March 6, 2023

It is still March and the numbers haven’t reached double digits, but that doesn’t mean all performances during the Mets’ spring training are the same.

Like can’t we all feel great for Tommy Pham, who got his first hit of the spring against Ryan Helsley of the St. Louis Cardinals Sunday afternoon. It was a solid single back up the middle on the first pitch of the fourth inning, something that will go back to being a hit with the shift rule. Pham scored on a sharp single by Tim Locastro during the Mets’ 7-1 win.

There’s no rule when any starter should get on the rubber in the spring and Kodai Senga’s performance Sunday looked just like any other starting pitcher taking his first start against actual opponents. Both the Japanese import and Justin Verlander had been facing hitters; just one wearing Met uniforms on one of the many practice fields in Port St. Lucie.

Verlander made his first start Saturday, a day after Max Scherzer made his second. The reigning AL Cy Young Award winner went three innings, struck out three and gave up an earned run and two hits during the Mets’ 15-4 win over the Marlins.

Senga walked two Sunday; the first two batters he faced. What I saw in those first two at-bats were the reports of his fastball were true. The Cardinals’ broadcast was called by Skip Carry, whose voice will always be linked to TBS broadcasts of Braves baseball, and even he admitted Senga reached 96 MHP.

The early trouble was getting control of his split-finger or Ghost Fork. Whatever the pitch is called, it wasn’t getting over for a strike. And both Buck Showalter and I were probably pleased the Red Birds brought their ‘A’ team; meaning reigning NL MVP Paul Goldschmidt and All-World third baseman Nolan Arenado were the next two batters.

Senga started with two off-speed pitches off the plate. Of his first 17 pitches, only 5 were strikes. He went to a 98 MHP fastball for his first strike against Goldschmidt and a 3-1 count, then got the first baseman to pop up on another inside fastball. Arenado saw the first off-speed pitch for a called strike, then fouled off a couple 96 MPH fastballs before flying out to Abraham Almonte right field for two important outs in early March.

Jordan Walker was up next, hitting .500 with nine hits and 3 home runs. The crowd actually applauded the next Cardinals can’t miss prospect, but Senga found his off speed, good enough that the 20-year old outfielder flailed at the split, allowing the Mets to escape unscathed.

That wouldn’t be the case in the following inning. A telegraphed slider to Tres Barrera was lost on the other side of the fence for the Cardinals’ lone run during the Mets’ 7-1 win. Jose Quintana, who gave up five runs in his first outing, had a quiet inning with a strikeout and Brooks Raley showed he’s not just a lefty-specialist, getting Walker to ground into a double play for another 1-2-3 frame.

But the talk, with a slight delay for the translator, will be about Senga. And it should be. But it should also move on rather quickly. Sunday was the last day before players report to their World Baseball Classic teams. That’s why the lineup featured the Mets’ starting infield - Jeff McNeil, Pete Alonso, Eduardo Escobar, Francisco Lindor and catcher Omar Narváez.

This means Senga will next work against lineups with a mix of minor leaguers and some guys who might not make that specific roster. In other words, he’ll get three weeks to get familiar with the new mound, spotting his fastball and finding his off-speed. And be just as surprising to MLB batters as he was today since most will have never faced him.

When Pham signed with the Mets, it was as a fourth outfielder. Add Darin Ruf recovering from injury and end of the bench seats are seemingly still up for grabs. Mark Vientos hit a pair of home runs Saturday and said, “My focus is to play every single day in the major leagues.” On Sunday, I thought both Almonte and Locastro added their names to the mix.

Locastro had two hits and played center field, a position in need of occasional relief for Brandon Nimmo. Almonte played right field, scored two runs and is hitting .538 this spring. With Starling Marte’s return expected to happen closer to April than anyone would like, I expect we’ll see these two at Citi Field going forward and that’s the truth.