Kodai Senga hurt again as Mets earn bittersweet sweep against Nationals

Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News on Jun 12, 2025

Published in Baseball

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NEW YORK — It was a scene reminiscent of the one from last July: Kodai Senga, the Mets prized right-handed ace, was on the ground in pain in the middle of what was otherwise a brilliant outing. And much like last time, Senga will be going on the injured list, this time with a strained right hamstring.

In the top of the sixth inning with the Mets trying to finish off a sweep of the Washington Nationals on Thursday afternoon, C.J. Abrams hit a chopper to the left of the first base bag. Pete Alonso made a good stop and Senga ran over to cover first base, but the throw was high from Alonso. He hit Senga on the run, with the pitcher jumping to make the grab and tag the base for the out.

But he came down grabbing at his right hamstring, and quickly crumpled to the ground in pain.

The Mets (45-24) were able to complete the sweep, their second straight, with a 4-3 win at Citi Field, but it was a bittersweet victory.

“It’s hard for me to speculate, but obviously we know he’s going to be down,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “As soon as he goes down like that and he grabs the hamstring like we saw last year, it’s unfortunate.”

The Mets won’t know the extent of the injury until Friday, when Senga has imaging done to determine the severity of the strain.

Last season, Senga suffered a shoulder injury during spring training that sidelined him until late July. Finally, he made his return July 26 to face the Atlanta Braves in a crucial division matchup, only to come off the mound with a left calf strain in the sixth inning. He missed the remainder of the regular season, and though he did pitch in the postseason, he was clearly not at full-strength.

“[He’s] obviously frustrated, but I told him he’s going to be back, and he’s going to play an important role and be an important part of this team,” Mendoza said. “So the main thing is waiting for the results to see what we’re dealing with, and then we’ll attack it, you know. And like I said, he’ll be back; he’s a competitor. It sucks that he’s got to go through it again, but hey, we’ll get him back.”

Alonso looked as though he could burst into tears at any moment, immediately running over to Senga and kneeling at his side. The infield rallied around the first baseman in an attempt to console him. Senga had thrown 5 2/3 innings of one-hit ball, lowering his ERA to 1.47, undoubtedly on his way to another All-Star selection. Senga sent his translator back to the dugout to assure Alonso that it wasn’t his fault, saying he felt the hamstring pull before he leapt.

Still, Alonso took it harder than anyone.

“I talked to him right away,” Mendoza said. “As soon as the inning was over, I went up to him and said, ‘Hey man, it’s baseball, you know it happens.”

Jose Castillo came in for Senga on Thursday and immediately gave up a single to Alex Wood. Luis Garcia Jr. then hit a fly ball to the right-center field warning track, sending Tyrone Taylor sprinting. He dove right at the edge of the grass, getting full extension to make the catch, sliding about a foot on the warning track dirt as he landed.

“He’s really saved a lot of games and a lot of runs for us,” left fielder Brandon Nimmo said. “Look at this game and how it ended up — we won by one run and that was extremely important there. It didn’t seem like it at the time, but I mean, what an amazing play, what an important play.”

Juan Soto raised his fists and pulled Taylor’s glove up to salute the fans as they ran off the field. Francisco Lindor stood at the dugout steps waiting to first-bump Taylor for yet another incredible catch.

It helped secure the win for Senga (7-3). He walked only one batter and struck out five over, throwing only 77 pitches.

“I hope he’s OK, but it sucks to see,” Taylor said. “But we’re able to keep going and keep fighting and then finish off that game when they tried to make a little comeback there. So it was just good to get the win.”

Jeff McNeil spotted Senga an early 3-0 lead with a three-run homer off right-hander Michael Soroka (3-4) in the bottom of the first inning, his fourth in five games. Nimmo hit his third home run in less than 24 hours to make it 4-0 in the bottom of the fifth.

The bullpen was rested and ready after David Peterson threw a complete game one night prior, but Ryne Stanek and Edwin Diaz struggled in the ninth inning, with the Nats (30-38) scoring three runs, nearly coming back to tie it. Three runs were charged to Stanek, with Diaz allowing two inherited runners to score.

The Mets are solid enough that Senga’s loss won’t be as devastating for the team as it was last season, but it’s devastating for a pitcher who worked so hard to return to full strength this season.

“He’s pitching so, so amazing, and he’s working so hard,” Nimmo said. “You hate to see him go down. You just feel for him.”