Kodai Senga gives up walkoff homer to take loss

Senga entered the ninth inning with a three-run lead and gave up back-to-back one-out doubles before recording back-to-back strikeouts to end the game. The Marlins brought the tying run to the plate, but it was still another relatively low-stress outing for the fill-in closer Senga, who now has seven saves.

Senga’s save was his sixth of the season. He recorded one strikeout in a perfect ninth inning. Senga has converted all six of his save opportunities for the Mets since he started closing games in August.

Senga got the call to protect a one-run lead in the final frame and made things interesting by issuing a leadoff walk to Jonny DeLuca. He bounced back by getting Richie Palacious to ground into a fielder’s choice before coaxing a fly out from Taylor Walls and striking out Yandy Díaz to end it. It was a nice bounce-back for Senga after giving up a walk-off homer to the White Sox in his previous save chance last weekend.

Senga got into big trouble in the ninth, allowing three straight to reach with one out, but the Padres then made the baffling decision to have Austin Hays bat for Sung-Mun Song, and Hays, who last collected a hit against a right-hander on May 1, grounded into game-ending double play. The run Senga allowed was the first he’s given up in six appearances this month.

Kodai Senga was given the night off after working two of the previous three days. Duarte, on the other hand, was allowed to make it three out of four days. He should rest Tuesday, with Senga likely back available for the ninth.

Senga now has all three of the Mets’ saves since August 10. Devin Williams is on the IL with a strained shoulder, and his absence isn’t expected to be long. It remains to be seen whether Senga sticks in the ninth once Williams returns. For now, the veteran right-hander is having success, which hasn’t always been the case in recent years. His only appearances since Williams went down have come in save situations.

Senga is the Mets closer right now. This is the second lead he was tasked to protect this week and he’s secured both opportunities. This one got a bit hairy as he let the tying run come to the plate in a three-run game. Still, he got out of it with a nasty ghost fork and looks like a relatively trustworthy ninth inning option moving forward.

His one previous career save came as a 20-year-old rookie reliever for Softbank in 2013. Working with a three-run lead, Senga struck out Matt Olson and Michael Harris II and then got Mauricio Dubón to fly out after an Ozzie Albies walk. Senga’s fastball has been at 96-99 mph as a short reliever, and his secondaries are up more than his fastball is. Any success he enjoys will still come down to command, but those desperate for saves might want to give him a look while Devin Williams is out.

Williams heads to the shelf after registering a disappointing 4.66 ERA, 1.66 WHIP and 51/21 K/BB ratio across 38 2/3 innings. The 31-year-old has converted just 16 of his 19 save chances this season. A quick glance under the hood reveals a more palatable 3.29 xERA and a bloated .388 BABIP, but his Mets debut has been an unmitigated disaster. His absence thrusts New York into a closer by committee situation with Kodai Senga and Daniel Duarte as the most likely candidates to inherit save opportunities, with rookie lefty Nate Lavender representing a dark horse for the role.

Senga cruised early, but hit a wall in the fifth of this one. Up until that point, he hadn’t walked a batter, threw a first-pitch strike to 11 of the 13 he faced, and only needed 33 pitches to get through four innings. That’s remarkable efficiency for anyone who’s watched Senga pitch this season. His cutter had some extra life and he was not afraid to attack hitters in the zone. Then, in that fifth inning, he walked the first two batters he faced and was pulled after a double brought a run home. Both of the runners he left on base came around to score, soiling his final line. Still, this was a fine outing all things considered, especially because Senga was thrust into action in place of Freddy Peralta as trade rumors swirl. If Senga gets another turn in the rotation, it will come next week against the Pirates.