Senga debuts for Mets, 'excited to be in a real game'

JUPITER, Fla. -- Kodai Senga had a bunch of stuff to process during his first start in a Mets uniform Sunday afternoon at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium.

To begin with, this was the 30-year-old right-hander’s first Spring Training outing, and there was a horde of Japanese media on hand to record it. In addition to the usual Mets contingent, there also was that new pitch timer constantly reminding him how much time he had to deliver each pitch. And staring him down at the plate was the intimidating Cardinals lineup that included Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado and Jordan Walker, who has been wielding a red-hot bat this spring.

So it was understandable that the nerves might be a little amped up for Senga, whom the Mets signed as a free agent in December. It certainly appeared so in the first inning when Senga issued back-to-back walks to Brendan Donovan and Tyler O’Neill, the first two St. Louis batters he faced. But the nerves calmed, and Senga promptly pitched out of the early jam by retiring Goldschmidt and Arenado on an infield popup and flyout to right. Then he sat down Walker, whom Senga made look silly on a swinging third strike with what has been labeled his ghost pitch, a devastating splitter that completely fooled Walker.

Senga, through an interpreter, dismissed nerves as an excuse for his shaky first inning. He needed 27 pitches to get through the frame.

“I was just excited to be in a real game,” said Senga, whose pitching regimen before Sunday had been solely against Mets hitters in batting practice.

Senga’s second inning was much more composed. He retired the first two batters before giving up a solo home run to Tres Barrera on a 1-1 pitch but induced an infield popup for the third out to end his debut. His pitching line: two innings, one hit, two walks, two strikeouts on 42 pitches, 24 of them for strikes. He was credited with the win as the Mets staked him to a 4-0 lead before he exited the game en route to beating the Cardinals 7-1.

Overall, Senga was mostly happy with his outing but admitted he might have been too obsessed with the pitch timer.

“It was a good experience for me,” he said. “I was battling the clock a little bit. Obviously that’s a very good lineup they have over there, especially the 3-4 guys [Goldschmidt and Arenado]. Before I got up there, I was very excited to face those guys, but once I was up there, my mind was kind of looking over at the pitch clock and couldn’t enjoy it as much as I wanted to. I see five [seconds] on the pitch clock and I feel very rushed, but in reality five seconds is quite a long time, so [I’m] just getting used to that.”

Mets manager Buck Showalter was very pleased with what he saw, especially under the circumstances and the way Senga handled the emotions that come with such an important moment in his career.

“He showed us everything that we were hoping to see,” Showalter said. “That was a good first outing for him. I’m proud of him. I know this was a big moment for him. His off-speed pitch was good, breaking ball was good, fastball was firm, as advertised. I liked his outing, and I liked his pitch repertoire. Before today, I would have taken that outing for sure."

Showalter said he’s not too concerned about Senga adjusting to whatever issues he might have with the pitch timer.

“If he was slow [to start his windup], it would be a problem,” Showalter said. “Slowing them down is a lot easier than speeding ‘em up. Thought we were going to have to get him out of there in [the first inning], maybe re-enter, but I think the first pitch or two there was something with the clock and then he kind of settled in. He’s a good athlete, he’s smart and he’s going to figure it out. He had to make adjustments in Japan to things. It’s a good outing to build on. Like I said, I’m happy with it. He seemed to handle it emotionally real well.

“You also think about the long journey he’s had to get here. He had to work and grind for everything to even get in the big leagues in Japan. One of the things that was attractive to us about him was he had to earn his way everywhere. He wasn’t some guy that was anointed early. To get here, it’s a moment for him.”

Suffice it to say that Senga met the challenge and rose to the occasion Sunday.