NEW YORK — Mets pitcher Kodai Senga, the major league ERA leader, will be placed on the injured list after straining his right hamstring in Thursday’s 4-3 win over the Washington Nationals.
“He’s going to get an MRI tomorrow, we’ll see the severity of it,” New York manager Carlos Mendoza said. “But he’s going to be on (the) IL here. So we’ve just got to wait and see what we’re dealing with.”
Senga allowed just two baserunners through the first 5 1/3 innings before racing to cover first on CJ Abrams’ grounder to Pete Alonso.
According to Mendoza, Senga said he felt his hamstring grab one stride before he made a leaping grab of Alonso’s high throw.
Senga touched the bag with his right foot on his way down. He stumbled upon landing and reached for the back of his right leg before hopping and eventually tumbling to the ground.
Senga was visited by his interpreter, an athletic trainer and Mendoza before being surrounded by teammates. The right-hander got up and walked off the field on his own, albeit with a slight limp.
Alonso has struggled making accurate throws to pitchers covering first base this season, but Senga relayed to Alonso that he got injured before he reached for the toss.
“I talked to (Alonso) right away as soon as the inning was over – I went up to him and I was like, `Hey man, this is baseball, it happens,’” Mendoza said. “And then Senga went in, he sent the translator and basically told him, hey, I felt it on the step before the jump, so tell him not to worry about it.”
Alonso remained downcast after the game.
“I still feel awful,” Alonso said. “I tried to make the best throw I could and it just sucks. It sucks to be involved in that. Senga, he’s one of our guys here and it sucks. You hate to see anyone go down, Yeah, it sucks being a part of that.”
Paul Blackburn, who blanked the Los Angeles Dodgers over five innings in his season debut June 2, is the most likely candidate to replace Senga in the rotation next Wednesday against the Atlanta Braves.
Frankie Montas (right lat) and Sean Manaea (right oblique) are on minor league rehab assignments recovering from injuries they sustained in spring training.
“I keep saying it. Injuries happen,” Mendoza said. “We feel for him, but nobody’s going to feel sorry for us. We’ve got people coming and the guys that are healthy now, they will continue to step up.”
Riding a six-game winning streak, the Mets have the best record in the majors at 45-24 – thanks largely to a stingy pitching staff paced by Senga.
The 5 2/3 scoreless innings of one-hit ball lowered Senga’s ERA to 1.47. Left-hander José Castillo entered with the Mets leading 4-0.
The leg injury is the second in two seasons for Senga, who strained his left calf in his only regular-season start last July 26. After missing the first 102 games because of a right shoulder injury, Senga gave up two runs in 5 1/3 innings against the Braves before he was injured sprinting off the mound to clear room for Alonso to catch a popup by Austin Riley.
Senga returned to make three appearances, including two brief starts, in the playoffs.
“I just spoke with him – obviously frustrated, but I told him he’s going to be back and he’s going to be an important part of this team when he gets back,” Mendoza said Thursday. “Sucks that he’s got to go through it again, but hey, we’ll get him back.”
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