Kodai Senga struggles, Mets' rally falls short in 5-4 loss to Nationals

The Mets were unable to extend their winning streak to four games on Wednesday night, as a lack of rhythm and length from Kodai Senga proved costly in a 5-4 road loss to the division-rival Nationals.

Here are the takeaways…

— Brandon Nimmo's first at-bat of the night was unfortunately his only one, as TV cameras caught him running gingerly out of the box on a double-play groundout in the first inning. While he came back out to play left field in the bottom half, he was ultimately pulled in the second inning with what the Mets called "neck stiffness" and replaced by Starling Marte. Call it a troubling development, as Nimmo has an established history of neck issues.

— To make matters worse, the Mets suffered another scare in the third, when Luis Torrens injured his glove hand on a swing from Drew Millas that resulted in catcher's interference. The training staff checked out Torrens as backup, Hayden Senger started putting on his pads, but no substitution was made. Torrens flexed his hand a few times while being evaluated and then remained in the game. The Mets can ill afford to lose Torrens, as they just placed Francisco Alvarez on the injured list with a disconcerting right thumb sprain.

— Senga looked comfortable through the first two innings, retiring the Nationals in order with two strikeouts on 19 pitches. But the Mets' starter labored in the third, as a leadoff walk to Dylan Crews and the interference error on Torrens sparked a bases-loaded rally that produced a pair of runs on an infield single and a sac fly. Senga's off-speed pitches were hit much harder in the fourth — he gave up two doubles and a triple that pushed the Nationals' lead to 4-0.

— The Mets cut their deficit to three in the fifth, when Brett Baty crushed a two-out fastball from Brad Lord to right-center that landed in the second deck for a mammoth 455-foot home run. But the Nationals' lead quickly went back up to four in the bottom frame, as Senga served up a solo shot to Josh Bell that also found the right-center field seats. Senga has now allowed 18 earned runs over his last six starts.

— The Nationals tried to steal outs with Lord in the sixth, and the plan backfired. The inning began with back-to-back walks to Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto, and then with one out, Pete Alonso ripped an RBI double to right that cut the score 5-2. With a pair of runners in scoring position, Jeff McNeil kept the rally going by slicing a two-run double down the left-field line that brought the Mets within one, 5-4. The Mets threatened to take the lead after Lord's exit with one out, but their bases-loaded opportunity against Cole Henry was squandered by a flyout and groundout.

— Senga returned for a sixth inning of work, but his leash was extremely short. He gave up a leadoff single to Daylen Lile that prompted the Mets to yank him at 84 total pitches. Yet another underwhelming outing from Senga, who allowed five runs (four earned) on six hits and two walks with four strikeouts. He also hasn't completed six innings in any of his seven starts since coming off the injured list in mid-July. His season ERA rose to 2.58. Tyler Rogers entered in relief of Senga and logged three outs by inducing a double-play and a comebacker.

— The Nationals turned to relievers Shinnosuke Ogasawara and Clayton Beeter for the seventh and eighth innings, and the duo retired the Mets in order on a combined 19 pitches. The ninth inning belonged to lefty Jose Ferrer, and while he gave up a one-out infield single to Cedric Mullins that placed the tying run on first, he managed to induce a double-play groundout from Torrens that earned him the save. The Mets have yet to win a game in which they've trailed after eight innings this season.

Game MVP: Josh Bell

The lefty slugger's two-run homer to right-center in the fifth pushed the Nationals' run total to the magic number of five. 

Highlights

What's next

The Mets (67-59) will play a matinee rubber game against the Nationals on Thursday, with first pitch scheduled for 1:05 p.m.

LHP Sean Manaea (1-1, 4.78) is slated to take the mound, opposite LHP MacKenzie Gore (5-12, 4.04 ERA).

Read the full article here