Kodai Senga's 9.00 ERA Is Staring Down the Mets, And Nobody Is Ready

Alright, you guys, gather 'round because we HAVE to talk about what just went down with Kodai Senga and the Mets. Seriously, you gotta be kidding me. After being out for nearly two months dealing with lumbar spine inflammation, their ace comes back, and what happens? A full-blown, absolute, no-holds-barred meltdown in the very first inning against the Cincinnati Reds. This is not the comeback story anyone in New York wanted, and it's making me wanna pull my hair out just thinking about it.

The First Inning Nightmare That Just Won't Quit

Dude, picture this: Senga is on the mound, back in the bigs, and immediately, it's a disaster. He walked two guys right out of the gate. Two! Then, Sal Stewart steps up and BANG, a three-run homer. Before you can even blink, Spencer Steer launches a solo shot of his own. Just like that, the Mets are staring down a 4-0 deficit in the first inning. Four runs. You can't make this stuff up. He somehow managed to lock it down for three more innings without giving up additional runs, which, credit where it's due, is something. But that initial collapse, that first-inning nightmare, proved to be more than enough for the Reds, who ultimately clinched a 5-3 win over New York. You can't buy that kind of frustration, man.

Velocity Is Back, But The Command Is Lost<

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/h2> Here's the kicker: Mets manager Carlos Mendoza is still backing his guy, saying Senga isn't going anywhere and he's staying in the rotation. I get supporting your players, but the numbers right now? They're brutal. Senga's fastball velocity was reportedly sitting in the low-90s during his rehab, but in this start, he was hitting 97.9 mph on the radar gun. So the heat is there, which is a good sign for his health, right? Problem is, his command is nowhere to be found. He didn't just walk two guys in the first, he allowed walks in the third and fourth innings too! His ERA is now inflated to a staggering 9.00 across six starts, and he's sitting at an ugly 0-5 record. He's struck out 28 batters, sure, but he's also handed out 17 walks. That's a brutal ratio, and it tells you everything about what's going wrong. The Mets are obviously hoping Senga can find that control when he laces up for his next start, which could happen next week. But man, watching that kind of struggle from an ace after a long injury layoff? That's rough. Meanwhile, back here in the Emerald City, our Mariners just pulled off a solid 3-1 win against the Baltimore Orioles at T-Mobile Park. We're riding high, looking at our own early season form, and hoping we don't have these kinds of early returns from our guys. Let's hope for a better next outing for Senga, but for now, that 9.00 ERA is a glaring problem.

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