Carlos Mendoza’s response sounded like a joke, even as it was made in earnest. He was talking about what he saw from pitcher Kodai Senga last summer.
"Those five innings were electric,” Mendoza, the New York Mets manager, said recently, alluding to Senga’s lone start of the regular season, against Atlanta in late July. "You’re watching him pitch and it’s like, ‘Man, this is real.’”
Of course, it wasn’t real for the Mets in 2024. By the sixth inning of that otherwise sparkling start, Senga was on the ground, having strained a calf muscle. He landed back on the injured list the next day.
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