Kodai Senga Struck Out 9 and Still Lost 3-0. Now He Faces the Giants' Worst Defense of the Year

Kodai Senga was brilliant in his first start of the season and got absolutely nothing for it. The Mets' 33-year-old right-hander allowed just four hits and two runs over six innings against St. Louis on Tuesday, struck out nine batters, and walked out of the stadium with an L and a 3-0 defeat hanging over his head. But here's what matters: his teammates and coaches are convinced he's back to his 2023 All-Star form, and that confidence is about to matter big time against a Giants defense that's falling apart.

Senga's Redemption Year Is Already Starting

After battling injuries through a rough 7-6 campaign last year, Senga showed up in St. Louis looking like the pitcher everyone remembers. His pitching coach Justin Willard didn't hold back after the game: "This guy wants to be great. I think you saw it in 2023 when he was here, and then a couple injuries derailed him a bit. But he wants to be great. He wants to be the best pitcher in baseball."

Senga walked out of that outing saying exactly what you want to hear from a guy who's been banged up: "It was a great start to the year. It makes me excited for this year. It felt like I'm a starting pitcher again." The record sits at 0-1 with a 3.00 ERA, but the stuff is there. The confidence is building. And the Mets offense has been putting in work, racking up 27 hits in their last two games and winning two of the first three in this series against San Francisco by blowout margins. No game has been closer than five runs.

The Giants' Defense Is Collapsing Right in Front of Him

Here's the setup Senga is walking into: the Giants are a mess on the field, and their manager Tony Vitello knows it. After Saturday's loss, he basically told reporters the defense lost the game. "Too many innings where there are four outs that have to be recorded. They have done a really good job of swinging the bat, but you'd be hard-pressed to find an inning where they scored where there wasn't the potential for the inning to be over. Our defense, we can certainly do better."

Now for the wrinkle. Senga has a rough history against the Giants across three career starts. He's 1-0 against them but got roughed up for 14 hits and 11 runs across 14 innings, walking 12 batters and posting a 7.07 ERA. That's ugly. But he's not the pitcher he was before.

Webb gets the ball for San Francisco, coming in at 1-1 with a 7.36 ERA. He bounced back from a disastrous Opening Day outing against the Yankees (seven runs in five innings) by limiting San Diego to three runs over six innings in a 9-3 win Tuesday. He's 3-2 with a 3.21 ERA in seven career starts against the Mets, but his early-season stuff has been shaky.

Game time Sunday. Senga finally gets run support, or the Giants' defense gives him nothing to work with. Either way, this is a pitcher who believes he's back and a team that hasn't let up on the gas.

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.