How NY Mets pitchers are affected by Kodai Senga’s short NLCS Game 1 start

LOS ANGELES — Kodai Senga’s body language told the tale.

As Senga labored through the first inning of his second start back from injury, he sauntered around the mound and offered a grimace that Mets fans were not happy to see.

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza entered the opening game of the National League Championship Series hoping to get three innings from the misplaced piece in their starting rotation. Senga could not find the strike zone and only lasted four outs while giving up three earned runs on four walks and two hits.

Game 1 of the NLCS unraveled from there for the Mets, who were teared past in a 9-0 loss in front of a sold-out crowd of 53,503 fans on Sunday night at Dodger Stadium.

“I still had tension, The mental switch was still on,” Senga said of the emotions of trying to pull his weight, through interpreter Hiro Fujiwara. “I was thinking about the mechanics out there, but just getting the team on the wrong foot to start the game was definitely frustrating.”

It proved to be a rude reintroduction to the NLCS for the Mets, who were making their first appearance in the championship series since 2015. Sunday’s result was the first blowout loss for the Mets of the 2024 MLB Playoffs, after their previous two postseason losses came by a combined three runs.

Now, the Mets are trailing in a series for the first time this postseason.

“It’s a game that we dropped,” Starling Marte said through interpreter Alan Suriel. “This is going to be a long series, so we’re just going to have to continue to go out there, continue to battle and come with that same confidence. The motivation of this team and the energy is still here.”

The setback won’t linger long as Sean Manaea takes the mound for Game 2 at 4:08 p.m. on Monday afternoon. It will be a bullpen game for the Dodgers. But Senga’s performance and a long day by the Mets’ bullpen left questions about how they could approach games later in the series.

Questions swirl around Kodai Senga

Senga only lasted 30 pitches during Sunday night’s start. It was one pitch fewer than his first start back against the Phillies in the Division Series.

The Mets right-hander only threw 10 of his pitches for strikes and that errant control haunted him as Max Muncy cashed in on three first-inning walks for a two-run single. Shohei Ohtani drove in Gavin Lux, who drew a leadoff walk, in the second inning to make it 3-0.

That signaled the end of Senga’s night as Carlos Mendoza turned to Reed Garrett to record the final two outs.

“I think a lot of factors go into it, but the biggest thing might be mechanical error,” Senga said.

One area of concern for Senga was a dip in velocity. Senga leaned heavily on his cutter and his four-seam fastball was more than two miles per hour slower than his average. He threw his ghost forkball four times and did not get a single whiff on the pitch, which was non-competitive throughout his outing.

Mendoza said the Mets will wait and see how Senga responds over the next couple of days before deciding whether it would be advantageous to line him up for a future start in the series.

“I don’t know when I’m pitching next, but my job is to adjust and focus on what I need to do to make the next outing better.” Senga said.

What’s the status of David Peterson?

With the Mets’ trailing by three runs, Mendoza called upon David Peterson for length with two outs in the third, but the left-hander encountered his first trouble of the playoffs.

Peterson gave up three runs (two earned) on four hits and one walk as the Dodgers extended their advantage to six runs in the bottom of the fourth. All four hits against Peterson, who tossed 2⅓ innings in relief, came in the fourth inning, including being tagged for a 116.5 mph single by Shohei Ohtani that scored a run on a bobble by Marte.

“They have a bunch of good hitters in that lineup and you gotta execute,” Peterson said. “You gotta have a good game plan. I felt like the game plan was good. That one pitch, I didn’t feel like I got it to the spot I wanted to and he did what he’s supposed to do with it.”

Entering Sunday night, Peterson had not allowed a run across 6⅓ innings in three appearances earlier in the playoffs. He threw 40 pitches in Game 1 on Sunday and the biggest question for the starter-turned-reliever is when he will be available next.

“We kept him somehow short. Hopefully he’s back available for Game 3 if we need — we’ve got to get to Game 3 and Game 4 and we’ve got to make a decision, but he’s too valuable for us,” Mendoza said. “But again, we’ll see what kind of shape we’re in bullpen-wise, and then we’ll have to make decisions and see how Senga’s feeling too.”

Mendoza also called upon Jose Butto to record five outs, but he gave up three runs across 1⅔ innings while throwing 43 pitches. The Mets manager was able to lean on his length guys in Game 1 with a key off day upcoming on Tuesday.

Mets offense can’t solve Jack Flaherty

As Senga struggled, the Dodgers received one of the best starts from Jack Flaherty in his tenure with the team.

Flaherty, who was traded from the Tigers at the trade deadline, tossed seven scoreless innings with six strikeouts while scattering two hits and two walks.

“He was getting ahead with his fastball and then the slider, the breaking ball, that slow curve,” Mendoza said. “He kept us off balance. He was getting ahead and making pitches.

“He tried to make us chase, which we did the first time through the order. He was just on. He was locating his pitches and he did a good job.”

Flaherty’s gem helped keep the Dodgers away from their high-leverage arms, which had been used in a Game 5 victory over the Padres on Friday night. Evan Phillips, Blake Treinen, Alex Vesia and Michael Kopech threw in that one.

Now, they have their full complement of elite bullpen arms heading into a bullpen game on Monday afternoon.