Dansby Swanson is part of the backdrop to a start that left Kodai Senga on shaky ground. The Mets right-hander allowed seven runs in 3 2/3 innings in a 9-6 loss to the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday night, and his rotation spot is now under evaluation.
Carlos Mendoza did not soften the message after the game. “Performing matters here and having outings like these are not gonna cut it,” he said, adding that the Mets are at a point where a player has to go out there and earn it.
Kodai Senga in the rotation
Senga has not given the Mets enough to make the decision simple. He is 0-6 with a 10.08 ERA in seven starts this season, and he has issued 22 walks in 27 2/3 innings. Tuesday was only his second start since coming off the injured list in late April.
The outing followed a stretch away with lumbar spine inflammation and ulnar nerve irritation. Senga said his struggles were probably half mental and half physical, and he said the first-inning version of himself would show he belongs in the rotation if he can repeat it over and over again.
Carlos Mendoza and David Stearns
The second inning changed the tone fast. Mendoza said Senga was throwing 98 and 99 and blowing the ball by hitters in the first inning, then got away from it in the second, leaving the dugout with the question of what was happening. That split is the part that now matters most for the Mets: the stuff is still there, but the command and the finish are not.
David Stearns had already framed the standard before the game. “In terms of our rotation, it’s a turn-by-turn evaluation, and we do need to see production there,” he said. He also said the Mets need to figure out a way to get themselves later into games in competitive positions, which puts Senga’s next turn under a tighter lens than before.
Wednesday's doubleheader
The rotation picture is not limited to one arm. Christian Scott is out with right hip impingement but could return this weekend, David Peterson has a 6.09 ERA in 16 games as a starter or bulk reliever, and the Mets will use Nolan McLean in the first game of Wednesday's doubleheader and Sean Manaea in the nightcap.
For Senga, the next step is less about explaining the loss than proving the first inning can last longer than one trip through the order. If he cannot command the zone and carry that opening version deeper into games, the Mets will have to keep treating his spot like a decision rather than a fixed answer.
