LOS ANGELES— Kodai Senga’s second rehab start went horribly wrong on Sunday, putting the Mets in a strange situation this postseason: they need to come back from being behind in a series.
The Mets were hoping Senga would pitch three innings, but they were only able to get three outs. The right-hander from Japan couldn’t handle the strike zone, and he smashed the Mets early in Game 1 of the NLCS, which they lost 9-0 to the Dodgers in front of 53,503 people at Chavez Ravine.
It wasn’t all Senga’s fault that the Mets’ relief failed and the lineup only got three hits off of Jack Flaherty and the Dodgers’ relievers, but the first inning set the tone. In that inning, Senga walked with the bases full and gave up two runs. After Senga walked the first batter in the second, another run scored.
It was slower for Senga—the seven four-seam fastballs he threw averaged only 93.5 mph—and the Dodgers didn’t go after his famous “ghost fork.” It forced Senga to throw cuts that didn’t work very well and went outside the strike zone.
Senga was put on the hurt list with a calf strain in September and didn’t get a chance to fully recover until October. This was the risk that came with starting him in October. Senga came back and threw two innings in Game 1 of the NLDS.
The first batter he faced, Kyle Schwarber, hit a home run, which was his only mistake. The Mets got over that small mistake, though, and went on to win. For the first time this playoffs, the Mets were not competitive in a game on this night. Things got worse for them.
The next game is set for Monday afternoon, so the return will be quick. For most of the season, Sean Manaea has been the Mets’ best starting pitcher. He will get the start against the Dodgers, who have thrown 33 straight scoreless innings, matching the playoff record set by the Orioles in 1966 (though it was in the World Series).
After beating the Brewers and the Phillies in the first two rounds of the playoffs, the Mets lost both of their first games and are now 1-1. They have never been down a game before.
Even though Senga threw 30 pitches, only 10 of them were strikes, he only got four outs. He was taken out of the game in the second after Shohei Ohtani hit an RBI single that put the Mets down 3-0.
Ohtani was out at the start of the game for the Dodgers, but Senga then walked Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, and Teoscar Hernandez before getting Will Smith out for the second out. Max Muncy hit a two-run single, though, before Senga could get Kiké Hernandez out for the last out.
Gavin Lux was walked by Senga to start the second, and Tommy Edman’s sacrifice bunt moved the runner. After Lux scored on Ohtani’s single through the first-base hole, Senga’s game was over. Reed Garrett came in to strike out Betts, but Francisco Alvarez threw out Ohtani as he tried to steal second base.
First thing in the fourth, Francisco Lindor walked off Flaherty, giving the Mets their first man on base. Pete Alonso walked with two outs, but Starling Marte was out at bat by Flaherty, ending the threat.
In the fourth, David Peterson was hit hard, giving up three earned runs that made the score 6-0. Two batters, Edman and Freeman, each hit an RBI single, and then Ohtani hit a huge home run off the fence in right center, scoring a run after Marte dropped the ball. Hernandez’s first-inning single set off the comeback.
The Mets’ first hit came from a single by Jesse Winker to start the fifth inning. However, he was caught stalling between second and third base on Jose Iglesias’ single and was out at third. The next three hitters were all out by Flaherty.
In seven innings, Flaherty kept the Dodgers from scoring. He gave up two hits, walked two, and struck out six.
In the eighth, Jose Butto put runners on base, and Betts hit a three-run double. Because Alonso threw the ball wrong, one of the runs wasn’t scored.
