Senga Steps Up As Mets Blank A's

Mets 8 Athletics 0 (Sutter Health Park, West Sacramento, CA)

Mets record: 10-5

Mets streak: Won 1

WP - Kodai Senga (2-1)

LP - Luis Severino (0-3)

Seat on the Korner: Luis Torrens

We select the star of the game and virtually invite him to a Seat on the Korner, just as Ralph Kiner used to do for his studio postgame show on WOR-channel 9 broadcasts in the early decades of the Mets.

Who needs Francisco Alvarez? Okay, we know he makes the Mets better, but Luis Torrens has been doing his best to make people forget that he is only the backup catcher. Torrens went three for four, with two RBI, including the Mets' first run of the day and the two that truly broke the game open in the ninth. But as they say in the infomercials....that's not all. His pitch calls got Kodai Senga to pitch a masterpiece, on a day when the Mets needed one from their ace. So take a seat, Luis, and answer Ralph's questions about what happened on both sides of the ball.

Need to Know

They have won nine of their last 12 games
The Mets are in the midst of their second road trip of the year, a six-game tour that takes them from Sacramento to Minneapolis. After taking two out of three from the A's, they will face a Twins team that, despite a win against the Tigers Sunday, is off to an unexpectedly slow start (5-11)
The Mets' starting staff has posted an MLB-best 2.55 ERA (22 ER/77.2 innings pitched).They have struck out 83.
With two walks, Juan Soto has now reached base safely in 14 of his 15
games as a Met...But he continues to disappoint at the plate. His 0-for-three Sunday lowered his batting average to .250, with 12 runs, four doubles,
only one home run, four RBI, 14 walks
Kodai Senga had one previous start against the Athletics, working 4.2 innings and allowing four runs on seven hits with four walks and seven strikeouts in the Mets 17-6 win on April 14, 2023.
Saturday marked just the sixth time in Athletics history all nine
players in the starting lineup had exactly one hit. The last time it happened
was on July 28, 1977 against California.
The A's did not walk Saturday for the first time since June 22, 2024, snapping a streak of 97 consecutive games with one or more walks that was the seventh longest such streak in Athletics history . Miguel Andujar's walk in the fourth inning Sunday began a new streak.

Turning Point

The game was scoreless until two outs in the sixth, and after a Francisco Lindor double to make it 2-0 in the seventh, Juan Soto was intentionally walked. A's reliever Noah Murdock fanned Pete Alonso for the second out, but then walked Brandon Nimmo to load the bases and (on five pitches) Mark Vientos to force in the Mets' third run, giving them some breathing room that turned the tenor of the game.

Three Keys

Senga Goes Long

If there has been one criticism of the Mets' rotation this year, it has been their inability to get into, or through the fifth inning, taxing the bullpen. On Sunday, Kodai Senga gave the Mets just what they needed: length from a starter. Senga went seven innings, and was economical about it, throwing only 79 pitches (47 strikes) and allowing only four hits. Senga lowered his ERA to a miniscule 1.06. Just what you hope for from your ace.

Baty Breakout?

Brett Baty, whose photo is in the Illustrated Dictionary under the word "struggling," got a start at his "natural' position, third base, in place of the equally struggling Mark Vientos. Baty responded with a ninth inning triple and two stellar defensive plays to start around-the-horn DPs , much needed in a scoreless game (which it was both times). Maybe putting Baty back into his comfort zone will help him move toward the form he showed in spring training. Otherwise, Sunday's game may have served to get him used to playing in AAA ballparks again.

Hard-luck Sevy

Former Met Luis Severino failed to get out of the sixth inning Sunday for the first time in his four starts, and he absorbed the loss --even though he held the Mets to only one run and four hits in five and two-thirds innings. Odd stat: Severino, who lowered his ERA to 4.01 Sunday, has allowed all of his 12 runs at home. The A's are 0-4 in Severino's starts. So far, it's the opposite of Severino's time as a Met. He was 7-2 with a 2.96 ERA at Citi Field last year and 4-5 with a 5.00 ERA on the road. We'll bet he can't wait for the A's new home to be built in Las Vegas -- although it is unclear whether he will still be an Athletic when that happens. Groundbreaking is scheduled for June and completion in three years -- just the length of Severino's $67 million contract.