New York Mets Rookie Kodai Senga Pitches Four Scoreless Innings vs. Astros

New York Mets rookie Kodai Senga continued to impress Wednesday, limiting the Houston Astros' lineup to no runs, two hits and three walks over four innings, while striking out three at Ballpark of the Palm Beaches in West Palm Beach, Florida in Wednesday's Grapefruit League game.

New York Mets rookie Kodai Senga continued to impress Wednesday, limiting the Houston Astros' lineup to no runs, two hits and three walks over four innings, while striking out three.

Senga has now allowed just two runs on six hits and five walks across nine innings and three starts this spring.

After putting together an illustrious pitching career in Japan in which he was a five-time Japan Series champion and a three-time Nippon Professional Baseball All-Star, Senga decided at age 30 that he would take his talents to America and join Major League Baseball. After testing the waters of free agency, he eventually signed a five-year, $75 million contract with the Mets.

Senga will slot into a new-look Mets pitching rotation. Jacob deGrom, the longtime ace and staple of the club's pitching staff, signed a five-year, $185 million deal with the Texas Rangers in early December. Not long after, Taijuan walker departed from the Mets, signing a four-year, $72 million contract with the Philadelphia Phillies. Instead of re-signing deGrom and Walker, the Mets added the likes of Justin Verlander, Jose Quintana and Senga.

Quintana is expected to miss the first three months of the season due to a stress fracture in his fifth rib on his left side. Quintana's injury could mean an increased role for starting pitcher David Peterson. If the Mets use a five-man rotation, it will most likely include Verlander, Max Scherzer, Senga, Carlos Carrasco and Peterson to open the season.

Senga enters MLB with 1,340.2 innings pitched under his belt as a professional. His first nine in Mets camp have been quite impressive.

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