SAN FRANCISCO — Kodai Senja, who was at normal rest, showed no signs of fatigue Sunday.
The Mets right-hander was solid in the sixth inning, ralliing his team to a 5-2 victory over the Giants at Oracle Park.
This was only the fifth time in his career that Senga had participated on the fifth day after the start. It is usually given at least on the sixth day.
“Whatever the show schedule is, whether it is a regular rest or an extra day, as long as I know in advance when it is and I am able to live according to that schedule, there is no problem,” Senja said through a translator.
If the Mets’ rotation remains intact, Senga’s next inning will be Saturday against the Athletics at Citi Field. Senja and the others on shift will get extra rest due Monday.
On this day, Senga allowed two earned runs on five hits with seven strikeouts and two walks over 5 ²/₃ innings. He allowed two singles in the sixth inning which factored into the two runs scored against him. Matt Chapman’s loud double was the other hit of the inning.
It was a continuation of what the Mets saw from Senga in his season debut against the Cardinals on Tuesday, when he struck out nine over six innings and allowed two earned runs on four hits.
“When you look at [Sunday’s] “He came out, just two solid balls,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “Other than that, he pretty much controlled that lineup. The fastball, the cutter, a good pitch, the fork ball to put away hitters and steal hits when he needed to. I thought overall he was great.”
This comes after the collapse that occurred in the second half of last season, which ended with Senga agreeing to a secondary assignment in the league. He spent September pitching with Triple-A Syracuse trying to get on the right track mechanically.
“The biggest thing [Sunday] “I was able to throw healthy, and I was able to come out of it healthy,” Senga said.
He received help defensively, especially from Jared Young, who sent Gerard Encarnacion’s shot over the left field fence in the fifth inning and threw out Encarnacion trying to reach second.
“It was amazing,” Senga said.