PORT ST. LUCIE, Florida ¨C Carlos Mendoza¡¯s response sounded like a joke, even as it was made in earnest. He was talking about what he saw from pitcher Kodai Senga last summer.
¡°Those five innings were electric,¡± Mendoza, the New York Mets manager, said recently, alluding to Senga¡¯s lone start of the regular season, against Atlanta in late July. ¡°You¡¯re watching him pitch and it¡¯s like, ¡®Man, this is real.¡¯¡±
Of course, it wasn¡¯t real for the Mets in 2024. By the sixth inning of that otherwise sparkling start, Senga was on the ground, having strained a calf muscle. He landed back on the injured list the next day.
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