Senga's strong start an encouraging sign for Mets' rotation

Kodai Senga is off to an excellent start for the Mets in 2026.

In his second start of the season Sunday in San Francisco, Senga allowed two runs in 5 2/3 innings, striking out seven batters and allowing five hits and two walks as the Mets defeated the Giants, 5-2. Through his first two starts of the season, Senga has allowed four runs in 11 2/3 innings, good for a 3.09 ERA. Senga has struck out 16 of the 47 batters he’s faced, meaning he's punched out more than a third of opposing hitters.

“The biggest thing is I was able to throw healthily, and that I was able to get out of it healthy,” Senga said through interpreter Hiro Fujiwara.

After a stellar debut 2023 season, when he finished second in NL Rookie of the Year voting with a 2.98 ERA and 202 strikeouts in 166 1/3 innings, Senga threw just 5 1/3 regular-season innings in 2024 (and five innings in the postseason). The Mets’ right-hander bounced back in 2025 with a 3.02 ERA in 22 starts, but he struggled so mightily down the stretch that New York optioned him to the Minors in September.

That Senga is looking much closer to the 2023 version of himself thus far bodes well for him and the general state of the Mets. With a healthy and ultra-effective Senga, the Mets could boast one of the best rotations in baseball.

“I think it's a really strong group,” Senga said of the Mets’ rotation. “As long as we stay healthy, stay out on the mound, we can be a stabilizing force for the team. And if it goes for everybody and myself, I don't want to be the one lagging behind.”