Mets pitcher Kodai Senga will be the starter for Game 1 of the National League Championship Series against Jack Flaherty and the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday. This game marks his return from injuries that have kept him to only two starts this year.
New York manager Carlos Mendoza stated that “everybody should be available and ready to go” in the bullpen.
“It’s Senga and then we’ll see after that,” he said Saturday before the Mets had a light workout at Citi Field before heading to Los Angeles.
Flaherty joined the Dodgers from Detroit at the trade deadline on July 30. He faced difficulties in Game 2 of the NL Division Series against the San Diego Padres, giving up four earned runs and five hits in 5 1/3 innings.
Senga made his return in the Division Series, pitching in a major league game for the first time since late July. He started against the Philadelphia Phillies on October 5 and allowed one run over two innings in the Mets’ 6-2 victory.
He had missed the first 102 games this season due to a right shoulder capsule strain and managed to pitch 5 1/3 innings in his only regular-season start on July 26, where he limited the Atlanta Braves to two runs before injuring his left calf.
Mendoza mentioned that if the Mets “get to see (Senga) pitch again this year, that means we’re in a good spot.” The 31-year-old right-hander had only one brief minor league rehab outing before returning in Philadelphia.
“There’s not a number I have in mind,” Senga said through an interpreter when asked about any pitch limit. “I’m going until they take the ball away from me and I’m going to go at 100% until then.”
Starting with Senga in Game 1—no matter how long he pitches—helps the Mets rest the rest of their rotation at this stage.
Sean Manaea will start Game 2 on Monday at Dodger Stadium on five days’ rest, having pitched a career-high 193 2/3 innings. Luis Severino has thrown 194 innings, his highest since 2018. David Peterson has also thrown a career-high 121 regular-season innings and has become an important bullpen player, pitching 6 1/3 scoreless innings in the playoffs.
“From the beginning, we wanted to put our guys in what we felt was the best position to have success considering where they’re at physically,” Mendoza said.
“For Senga, we wanted to keep it as close as possible to his routine. And then with some of the other guys, like I said, it’s because of where they’re at physically and who will benefit from an extra day.”
Counting his appearance against the Phillies, Senga has made 28 of his 31 big league starts with at least five days of rest.
