The National League ERA leader takes the mound Thursday afternoon for the New York Mets.
However, Kodai Senga isn’t the only pitcher who can stake a claim to being the Mets’ ace.
Senga will look to follow in the footsteps of his fellow starters on Thursday when New York attempts to complete a sweep of the Washington Nationals in the finale of a three-game series.
Senga (6-3, 1.59 ERA) is slated to oppose fellow right-hander Michael Soroka (3-3, 4.86).
David Peterson threw the Mets’ first complete game of the season on Wednesday, when he scattered six hits and struck out six in a 5-0 win, New York’s fifth consecutive victory.
The gem lowered Peterson’s ERA to 2.49 — the fourth-best mark in the NL — and reduced the ERA of Mets starters to a major-league-best 2.84. Peterson, Senga, Clay Holmes, Tylor Megill and Griffin Canning are a combined 29-14 in 64 starts.
New York starters have allowed four earned runs or fewer in 67 of 68 games this season. The lone exception happened on May 4, when Blake Tidwell gave up six runs in his major league debut as the Mets fell 6-5 to the St. Louis Cardinals.
The New York rotation has thrived despite the season-long absence of Sean Manaea (right oblique strain) and Frankie Montas (right lat strain), each of whom is on a rehab assignment.
“We kept talking about our depth and we got tested with (the absence of) Manaea and Montas,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “I know outside of this building there was a lot of questions, but we always felt good about it.
“Yeah, there’s going to be ups and downs and that’s part of it. We’ll continue to work with them. But man, they’ve been huge and solid for us. They continue to give us a chance. Every time someone takes the baseball, you feel good about your chances that day.”
The Nationals continued to feel uncomfortable at the plate on Wednesday, when they fell to 2-7 this month with their fourth loss in a row. Washington, which hasn’t scored since CJ Abrams homered in the fifth inning Tuesday night, has been shut out twice in June and limited to two runs or fewer five other times.
The Nationals rank last in the majors this month in runs (15), batting average (.194), on-base percentage (.236) and slugging percentage (.294). They were ninth in runs (133) in May, when they ranked 11th in on-base percentage (.324) and slugging percentage (.409) and 13th in batting average (.250).
“We’ve got to start hitting,” Nationals manager Dave Martinez said. “The key is to start taking our walks … and start utilizing the middle of the field. That’s when we’re really good. We do that, we’ll be in good shape.”
Senga didn’t factor into the decision in his most recent start, when he allowed one run over six innings as the Mets beat the Colorado Rockies 4-2 on Friday.
He is 0-1 with a 2.65 ERA in three career starts against the Nationals. Senga got a no-decision at Washington on April 25 despite throwing six innings of two-run ball.
Soroka turned in his best start of the season on Friday, when he tossed six scoreless innings in the Nationals’ 2-0 win over the Texas Rangers.
He is 4-1 with a 3.08 ERA in seven career starts against the Mets.
–Field Level Media
