In a brutal blow to the streaking Mets, right-hander Kodai Senga is likely out for the rest of the regular season with a left calf strain, according to manager Carlos Mendoza.
Senga was placed on the 15-day injured list Saturday but Mendoza told reporters “it’s pretty fair to say” Senga is done for the regular season.
Senga, 31, suffered the injury running off the mound to give his infielders room to field an infield popup in the sixth inning of the Mets’ 8-4 win over the Atlanta Braves on Friday. He immediately grabbed his left calf, dropping to the ground in pain, and was quickly pulled from the game.
The right-hander was cruising until that point, holding the Braves to two runs on two hits and one walk with nine strikeouts. His fastball touched 98 mph. His trademark forkball induced five whiffs. He threw 73 pitches, six fewer than he tossed in his fourth and final rehab start, and looked like the All-Star hurler from last year.
Senga’s performance and a seven-run third inning fueled the Mets’ fifth straight win and Braves’ sixth consecutive loss, a combination that vaulted New York into the top National League wild-card spot and second place in the NL East over Atlanta. It’s a remarkable development considering the Mets were 10 games behind the Braves and in disarray in late May.
They’ve done it almost entirely without Senga, who was shut down with a shoulder injury less than a week after reporting to spring training. His return was prolonged by an injury setback and his dissatisfaction with his mechanics, leaving the Mets to navigate the first four months of the season without their projected ace.
Senga’s return was supposed to double as a pivotal deadline addition to a middling starting rotation after he posted a 2.98 ERA and finished second in NL Rookie of the Year voting last season. Instead, it was a 5⅓-inning cameo.
In corresponding moves Saturday, the Mets optioned right-hander Eric Orze to Triple-A Syracuse, called up righty Tylor Megill and activated Ryne Stanek, who arrived in a trade with the Seattle Mariners on Friday.
Adding a starter before Tuesday’s trade deadline isn’t out of the question, though the front office’s focus has been on addressing a beleaguered bullpen with the highest ERA in the majors since May 1. The Mets acquired veteran relievers Phil Maton and Stanek this month. They could continue shopping in the relief department — and venture elsewhere.
But the chances of landing a starter of Senga’s caliber, in a market thin with frontline starters, aren’t high.
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