Kodai Senga, the trump card brought out by the New York Mets in the 2024 postseason, appears to be shaking after two games.
Senga started the first game of the championship series against the LA Dodgers held at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California on the 14th (Korean time), but allowed 2 hits, 4 walks, and 3 runs in 1 1/3 innings. Out of 30 pitches, only 10 were strikes. As the 4 walks and 0 strikeouts show, his pitching was the worst.
Senga, who only pitched in one game this season due to injury, has been preparing for the postseason by appearing in practice games even after the minor league season ended, and has joined the starting rotation since the Division Series. However, looking at the last two games, he does not appear ready to start in a major league postseason game.
news/cms/202410/14/news-p.v1.20241014.1b3d31e6c39647ada5a3d4ad2af4c5b0_R.jpg" data-width="512" data-height="341" /> Enlarge photo Mets starter Senga did not last more than two innings. Photo (Los Angeles, USA) = ⓒAFPBBNews = News1
In an interview after the game, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said, “Everything went wrong today. There was no power in the fastball, and many balls fell out of the hand. A lot of uncompetitive balls came out. “It was especially the splitter,” he said, calmly evaluating Senga’s pitching.
Regarding putting him on in the second inning, “It was a complicated situation. “I induced a fly ball with the bases loaded in the first inning, and if I got one more out, I could get through without giving up a run,” he said, adding that after seeing him finish the first inning, he decided to give him a chance in the second inning as well. As a result, this decision led to bad results.
Since he had a long absence due to injury this season, there are bound to be concerns about his physical condition. Mendoza said, “I talked to Hef (pitching coach Jeremy Hefner) about whether we missed anything. The athlete says he is in good physical condition. “There was no problem,” he said, adding that there was no problem with his physical condition.
When asked if Senga could start in Game 5, he said, “We have to see how he recovers over the next few days. This is the method he always used whenever he got on the mound. “I have to check his condition every day,” he said, sparing his words.
David Peterson, who appeared as a long reliever that day, may be used instead in Game 5. Mendoza responded to these comments by saying, “We will watch. We continue to shorten his appearances. I am hoping that I can come out in the 3rd game as well. He is a very valuable player for us. First, we will decide after looking at the bullpen situation. “We also need to look at Senga’s condition,” he replied.
Regarding opposing starting pitcher Jack Flairty, who overwhelmed the opponent through 7 scoreless innings, “He used a fastball to get a favorable count, and then he used a slider breaking ball and slow curve to keep the batters off balance. He made a favorable count and threw a good ball. We made him chase Yuin-gu and stopped him in the first fight. He showed his approval, saying, “From then on, I threw the ball where I wanted.”
[로스앤젤레스(미국)= 김재호 MK스포츠 특파원]
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