After reaching 200 strikeouts, Kodai Senga eyes winning season for Mets in 2024
Kodai Senga gave the Mets everything and more in his rookie season, and he capped it off Wednesday with another solid outing while also reaching some major milestones.
In the Mets' 4-2 loss to the Marlins in the second game of their doubleheader, Senga went five innings, giving up two runs on three hits and three walks. And he struck out eight batters, including his 200th of the season.
The 30-year-old became the 13th pitcher in Mets history to record 200-plus strikeouts in a season, and joined Dwight Gooden as the only Mets rookies to do so.
"He’s worked so hard to make everyone proud of his efforts. Pretty remarkable, glad he’s with us," manager Buck Showalter said of Senga after the game. "He’s done so many things in the clubhouse. He’s part of a good group moving forward. We’re lucky to have him next year and we created a good path for him."
The 200-strikeout mark is a milestone that Senga was thinking of, and was glad to reach it.
"Towards the end of the season it was a number I was hoping to get to," Senga said through the team's interpreter. "Now that I’ve achieved it, it’s a sigh of relief.
"Going into the season I had no expectations. I had no idea what I was capable of," he added. "When it comes to numbers I had no idea. It was brought to a realization when you guys ask and talk about certain milestones throughout the year. It was you guys that brought it to my attention."
"Senga today, that’s special," Francisco Lindor, who reached the 30-30 milestone in the same game, said. "Rookie year coming up like that doing it like he did it, that’s special. That’s different. Not many pitchers or players do that. That’s very special."
In 29 starts, Senga had a 2.98 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP. He also struck out 202 batters in 166.1 innings pitched.
While those numbers are great for a rookie coming from Japan, Senga says he's most proud of staying healthy throughout the season. When asked what his biggest challenge was this season, Senga was honest and said the tough year for his team.
"The hardest part was how the season went as a team for us. When we weren’t able to win and get into a groove and I had to still be out there trying to help the team win," Senga explained. "It’s tough to pitch with personal goals. It’s a lot more fun and motivational with the team in mind. That’s the toughest part."
With Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander traded, Senga stepped up and became the de facto ace of the team in the second half of the season. However, he hopes the team improves next season whether he's the ace of the staff or not. But if you ask him, he hopes he's not the No. 1 starter.
"Hopefully next year I’m no longer the ace because we get good free agents or good trades to power up our rotation," Senga said slyly. "It’s hard to throw for personal goals. And hopefully the team will be a more winning team next year and going into next year I want to improve whether I’m the ace or not. I just want to keep growing and getting better."
One aspect Senga hopes to improve is the effectiveness of some of his pitches. He learned a few throughout the year and he calls them "immature." He also wants to limit the number of runners on base -- especially via the walk -- but he's learned a lot in his first year in the majors.
That includes how long a season can be and perhaps that will influence whether he'll be pitching on longer rest like he did for most of this year in 2024.
"Towards the beginning of the year I think it definitely did help [keep me healthy]," he said. "The more I get used to the season and the more and more used to the league the longer rest started to feel long sometimes. I learned a lot this year and moving forward, now that I know what a full regular season feels like, moving into next year hopefully whether it's with longer rest or not, I can get through the rotation healthy."
