Kodai Senga’s calf injury puts damper on Mets’ standings-shifting fifth straight win

The large crowd went quiet. Mets players stopped in their tracks. 

Citi Field, so loud, boisterous and full of life one moment, suddenly sounded like a library — 34,673 fans joining each other in disbelief. 

In his 2024 debut, Kodai Senga went down while trying to move out of the way of a pop-up and he wasn’t getting up.

The ace right-hander, sidelined the entire season up until this point with shoulder and triceps injuries, was holding his left calf in pain. 

The party was over. 

Eventually, he was able to get up and walk off the field under his own power.

The fans gave him an ovation.

Teammates congratulated him on his performance, 5 ¹/₃ innings of two-run ball that helped power the Mets past the Braves, 8-4, and into the first National League wild-card spot.

The team later said he had suffered a left calf strain, an injury that typically takes weeks to recover from. 

The severity of it is unknown.

Senga, unavailable for comment after the win, will get an MRI exam Saturday.

The Mets (55-48) are confident it is a calf injury and nothing more serious, like an Achilles tendon. 

“We just have to wait and see what we’re dealing with here,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “You hate to see it. Look, he was pretty impressive. Watching him pitch, the fastball, the splitter, he dominated today.” 

The ballpark didn’t sound the same the rest of the evening, so much uncertainty over the Japanese hurler who was so impressive Friday.

Aside from a two-run Adam Duvall homer, Senga pitched extremely well. He allowed just one other hit, walked one and struck out nine, while recording 12 swings-and-misses on 73 pitches. 

“The same guy from last year — he was nasty,” Francisco Alvarez said. “How worried am I about him? A lot because we want to see that more. I want him healthy.” 

With one out in the sixth inning, Austin Riley hit an infield pop-up near the mound.

As Senga ran out of the way, he grabbed at his left calf and fell to the grass.

Audible gasps could be heard around Citi Field. 

The injury put a damper on another otherwise fun night in Queens.

The Mets (55-48) cruised to their fifth straight win and improved to 33-15 since May 29.

They blasted three third-inning home runs off Braves starter Charlie Morton, putting the game away with a seven-run frame. 

Engulfed in an extended slump, J.D. Martinez produced the biggest swing, an opposite-field grand slam that turned a two-run deficit into a two-run lead.

Riley gave the Mets a gift with his error opening the frame.

After Morton hit Francisco Lindor and walked Brandon Nimmo, he fell behind Martinez 3-1.

Martinez then rifled the next pitch over the wall in right field for his first homer since July 1, 11th of the year and ninth career grand slam. 

Mark Vientos and Francisco Alvarez followed with bombs as the Mets sent Morton to the showers early. The 2 ²/₃ innings pitched marked his shortest outing of the year. 

“It was fun, it was kind of crazy,” Martinez said. “Everyone said it was rocking. I usually get down into the [batting] cage. When I was out there, it was nuts.” 

Senga, however, was the big news of the night. The Mets waited until their 103rd game to see their star righty on the mound, and now they may have lost him again for an extended period. 

The Mets were already down rookie starter Christian Scott (UCL sprain), leading them to call on Tylor Megill to start Saturday.

They were already thin in the bullpen, although general manager David Stearns traded for reliever Ryne Stanek on Friday, but now the starting rotation is dealing with similar problems.

The Mets have been resistant to using Jose Butto as a starter because of how well he has pitched as a reliever.

They may have to revisit those plans now. 

“It’s a tough piece to lose, but there’s no sense in dwelling on it,” Martinez said of Senga. “He’s going to do everything he can to come back, and hopefully he’s back by the playoffs. But a lot of baseball left. We just got to keep it going.”