Inside The Mets

Kodai Senga turns in third straight rough start for the Mets

Kodai Senga has not looked like his old self since returning from the injured list.
Logan VanDine|
Jul 21, 2025; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets starting pitcher Kodai Senga (34) follows through on a pitch against the Los Angeles Angels during the first inning at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
Jul 21, 2025; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets starting pitcher Kodai Senga (34) follows through on a pitch against the Los Angeles Angels during the first inning at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

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The New York Mets may have snapped their four-game losing streak on Saturday with a resounding win against the San Francisco Giants, but it was another rough day at the office for Kodai Senga.

In his fourth start since coming off the injured list with a hamstring injury, Senga once again struggled with his command. The righty lasted just four innings, giving up four earned runs (including a home run to former Met Dom Smith), striking out four while walking three, as well as hitting a batter on 71 pitches.

Senga also continued a troubling trend for the Mets' starting pitching staff, which has seen no starters other than David Peterson last more than six innings in an outing since June 11.

Prior to going down with his injury, Senga was not only proving to be the ace of New York's rotation, but was also pitching at an All-Star caliber level. In 13 starts before his injury, the 32-year-old posted a 7-3 record with a 1.47 ERA and 70 strikeouts in 73.2 innings of work.

Read More: Mets manager gets honest about Kodai Senga's recent performance

Since returning from the shelf, however, the "Ghost Fork" thrower has posted a 5.25 ERA in four starts, striking out just 12 over 12 innings while walking an alarming 10 batters. Senga has also gone past five innings just once so far in those four starts.

"Having a hard time feeling the strike zone," manager Carlos Mendoza said of Senga's start after the game. "Noncompetitive pitches, lot of three-ball counts, walks, hit by pitch, and then he got behind in counts. They made him pay, he's just gotta stay in the attack...be aggressive with all of his pitches and he's not doing that right now, we gotta help him."

Senga said it was his "uncompetitive pitches" resulting in him struggling during his start against San Francisco.

While the Mets' bullpen has vastly improved with the acquisitions they made during the trade deadline, this has not been the same Senga who not only earned an All-Star selection during his rookie season in 2023, but also finishing second in voting for the National League Rookie of the Year Award and seventh for the NL Cy Young Award that year as well.

The Mets can only hope Senga can right the ship during his next starts in the future as they continue to be in a back-and-forth battle for first place in the NL East with the Philadelphia Phillies.

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Logan VanDine
LOGAN VANDINE

Logan VanDine is a contributing writer for On SI's Mets. Logan is a graduate of Rider University where he majored in Sports Media and minored in Sports Studies. During his time at Rider, Logan worked for Rider's radio station, 107.7 The Bronc as a sports host, producer and broadcaster, and for the school's paper: The Rider News. He began his time with The Rider News as a section writer for sports and was a copy editor for two years followed by being one of the sports editors during his senior year. Logan also placed third in the New Jersey Press Foundation Awards for sports feature writing. Aside from his work at On SI, he is also a writer for FanSided covering the New York Giants and Mets and also covers the Giants for Total Apex Sports. Give him a follow on X: @VandineLogan

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