Senga Solid, Catchers Collect Four Hits As Mets Fall to Astros, 5-2

A day after his native Japan took home their third World Baseball Classic championship, Kodai Senga took the mound for his fourth start of the spring against the Houston Astros at Clover Park. Senga was still not using his signature ghost fork as he recovers from tendinitis in his right index finger, but even in a game where he only threw his best putaway pitch once, the right-handed flamethrower still had a strong outing.

However, despite Senga’s solid performance and four combined hits from catchers Omar Narváez and Tomás Nido, the Mets fell 5-2 to the Astros.

Senga made quick work of the Astros in the first inning, retiring the side in order including a three-pitch strikeout of David Hensley. Senga did allow a two-out double from Justin Dirden in the second inning, but he stranded the runner there with his third strikeout of the day to end the threat.

In the third inning, Senga ran into some trouble. A leadoff walk and a one-out single put two Astros on base with just one out. However, just as quickly as Senga got into the jam, he got out of it, when he forced Hensley to ground into a 5-4-3 double play. He recovered nicely in the fourth inning, needing just eight pitches to get through another 1-2-3 frame.

After needing just 46 pitches to get through four scoreless frames, Senga pitched into the fifth inning for the first time this spring, but first two Astros hitters of the inning both drew walks on 3-2 counts to put an end to his day.

Jimmy Yacabonis was the first Met reliever to enter the game, and his lack of control came back to bite him. After striking out Dixon Machado, he walked Mauricio Dubón on four pitches. With the bases loaded, he fell behind Rylan Bannon 3-0, but he was able to find his control again and throw three straight strikes to get the second out. It seemed Yacabonis had found his release point when he got ahead of Hensley 0-2, but he followed with four straight balls to walk in the games first run. Things went from bad to worse when he fell behind Corey Julks. His 2-1 sinker was right down the middle, and Julks turned on it for a double in the left-center gap to clear the bases and give Houston a 4-0 lead.

Senga finished his day going four-plus innings, allowing two runs on two hits and three walks while striking out three.

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The Mets had just one hit heading into the bottom of the fifth. Now trailing by four runs, the offense immediately responded. With one out, Luis Guillorme and Narváez hit back-to-back singles to bring up the top of the Mets’ lineup with a chance to score. Eduardo Escobar doubled down the left field line to bring in the Mets’ first run of the game. Starling Marte then came up with runners on second and third. The Mets appeared poised to cut into the Astros’ lead, but Marte hit a shallow fly ball to right field, and Julks made a strong throw to the plat to get a tagging Narváez for an inning-ending double play to keep the lead at 4-1.

After scoreless innings from T.J. McFarland and Tommy Hunter in the sixth and seventh, the Mets once again had a chance to get back into the game thanks to the bottom of their lineup. With two outs, Guillorme hit his second single of the game and Tomás Nido followed with a single in his first at-bat since entering the game for Narváez. The Mets’ turned to Brett Baty to pinch-hit for Escobar with two outs and two runners on, but the 23-year-old third baseman struck out to strand the two runners.

Hunter stayed in the game for a second inning of work and pitched a perfect eighth inning. The 1-2-3 inning brought him up to eight scoreless innings this spring. In those eight innings, he has allowed just four hits and one walk while striking out nine hitters.

The Astros added another run in the ninth inning due to a defensive miscue from DJ Stewart. Jeff Brigham entered the game in the ninth and allowed a one-out single to Zach Dezenzo. With two outs, Dubón hit a fly ball down the right field line. Stewart broke back on his first few steps before breaking in towards the right field line. The ball would fall after hitting the edge of the webbing of his glove, allowing a run to score to extend the Astros lead to 5-1.

In the bottom of the ninth, the Mets put themselves in position to stage a late comeback. A walk from Jonathan Araúz, and singles from José Peraza and Nido brought Baty up with the bases loaded. Baty drew a walk to cut the lead to 5-2 and put the tying run on base, but Danny Mendick and Stewart struck out to close out the 5-2 defeat.

Players of the Game: Omar Narváez and Tomás Nido

Opening Day is just over a week away, and while the Mets don’t have a clear number one catcher, both of their backstops are heating up heading into the regular season. Narváez started the game and went 2-2 with two singles. Since returning from the World Baseball Classic, the Venezuelan catcher is 3-5 at the plate over two games. In the sixth inning, Nido came into the game and went 2-2 with two singles of his own. Nido’s spring average is up to .382, and his OPS is up to 1.106. The Mets did not get much offensive production from their catchers in 2022. If the Mets continue to get offense from their catchers, it can be a huge boost to the lineup that was one of baseball’s best last season, and that’s without even factoring in Francisco Álvarez.

On Deck

The Mets will travel to North Port on Thursday to take on the Atlanta Braves. Mike Vasil will start the game for the Mets, and the Braves starter is still yet to be determined. The game will not be broadcast in New York, but the Braves will be airing the game on Bally Sports Southeast and WIFN 1340. Mets fans can also follow the game on MLB Gameday on MLB.com

Carlos Carrasco was scheduled to make a minor-league start on Thursday, but Buck Showalter said he will not be making the start due to “elbow maintenance” that he does periodically. Carrasco will pitch again in a minor-league game five days later on Tuesday.

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