'Senga all day': Kodai (10 K's) boosts case for awards

September 15th, 2023

NEW YORK -- Right-hander bolstered his NL Rookie of the Year and Cy Young Award credentials on Thursday at Citi Field, dominating the D-backs in an 11-1 victory.

Senga was brilliant from the start, throwing six scoreless innings, allowing just two hits and two walks while striking out 10 batters. It marked the fifth time that Senga had a double-digit strikeout game.

“He was just changing speeds, showing us the fastball from 95-98, and then working off of that,” said D-backs manager Torey Lovullo. “It was three pitches off of that -- the curveball, slider and forkball. They were all in, and we didn't put pressure on him -- he was kind of freewheeling out there. And you have to give him credit."

After allowing a first-inning single to Tommy Pham, Senga retired 13 straight hitters before Emmanuel Rivera led off the sixth with a single

It was in the sixth inning where Senga had his first jam of the day. After quickly getting the second out of the inning, Senga walked Ketel Marte and Pham to load the bases. However, Senga was able to end the threat by getting Christian Walker to fly out to center fielder Brandon Nimmo.

Senga wanted to pitch one more inning, but with his pitch count up to 103, manager Buck Showalter opted to end his day there.

By the time he left the game, Senga lowered his ERA from 3.07 to 2.95. He is one of five qualified MLB starting pitchers -- along with Blake Snell, Justin Steele, Gerrit Cole and Sonny Gray -- with an ERA currently below 3.00.

If one looks at Senga’s body of work, he has a very strong case to win the NL Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year Award. But beyond that, Senga also has to be considered a candidate for the NL Cy Young Award.

All season, the D-backs’ Corbin Carroll has been talked about as the frontrunner for NL Rookie of the Year, and he’s got a compelling argument of his own. But in this series, he went 1-for-14 in three games -- he did not play on Wednesday -- and saw his batting average drop to .278.

Senga’s teammates certainly believe he should be the man voters choose.

“He stays within himself and he has learned to read the hitters' swings and that’s very important,” said shortstop Francisco Lindor. “I think he is Rookie of the Year for what he has done this year. He has 11 wins in probably one of the toughest divisions in baseball. He has contributed and has been our most consistent player.”

Teammate Joey Lucchesi says that Senga does a great job doing his homework when it comes to dealing with opponents.

“Obviously, he has a great arsenal of pitches. He does a good job getting ahead, going up and down, in and out and getting a lot of swings and misses,” Lucchesi said. “I think he should win [Rookie of the Year]. Why not? The other guy, Corbin, is competition, right? I would go with Senga all day.”

Awards are not on Senga’s mind, however. He is most pleased that he has stayed healthy the entire season.

“In terms of this year, especially in the beginning, I had extra days of rest,” Senga said through an interpreter. “I was fully going in the rotation. But I was able to stay healthy throughout the year. Because of that, I think that’s what led to a good season so far.”