Kodai Senga Makes Mets Spring Debut

It was only spring training, but for Kodai Senga and New York Mets fans, his first outing in the Orange and Blue was long anticipated. It started off with some butterflies, perhaps, for the 5-time Nippon League champion, but in the end, he flashed the potential (and the ghost forkball) that everyone was expecting. 

Have to imagine Kodai Senga was overly amped up for his first appearance. Walked the first two batters, then got Goldschmidt-Arenado-Walker to end the inning. Fastball was 96-98 and he got Walker to end it with the 👻 pic.twitter.com/FAEdbaliK3

— Joe DeMayo (@PSLToFlushing) March 5, 2023

Senga went two innings against the St. Louis Cardinals, and allowed just one hit, with one earned run and two base on balls. His fastball sat upper-90s and topped out at 99 mph. "I was a little excited," said Senga about his erratic first inning, walking the first two batters. "Felt like I was floating a little bit. I guess that played a part."

He certainly settled in after struggling with his control early on, getting Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado and hot-shot rookie Jordan Walker in order.

His manager, Buck Showalter, was more than happy with the Japanese star's first outing. "He showed everything that we were hoping to see, it was a good first outing for him. I'm proud of him."