Kodai Senga, Sean Manaea to Start Games 1 And 2 of NLCS

After the New York Mets defeated the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 4 of the NLDS to notch a ticket to the NLCS, their first since 2015, the team had to wait a few days to see who their opponent would be. On Friday, the Mets watched as the Los Angeles Dodgers won Game 5 over the San Diego Padres 2-0. With that, the Mets will face the Dodgers for the fourth time in postseason history, and manager Carlos Mendoza announced the starting pitchers for Games 1 and 2 in Los Angeles.  

Kodai Senga Starting Game 1

On Saturday, Mendoza announced that Kodai Senga will get the ball for Game 1 on Sunday night. Mendoza said they expect him to go 3 innings. The bulk pitcher will be determined from there. Mendoza said they wanted to keep it as close to Senga’s routine. This will be Senga’s second start of the playoffs after going 2 innings in Game 1 of the NLDS. Overall, this will be Senga’s third start this entire season. In Philadelphia, Senga allowed just 1 run, a home run by Kyle Schwarber to begin the game, and struck out 3 before handing the ball off to David Peterson. 

“We wanted to keep it as close as possible to his routine,” Mendoza stated on the decision. 

Sean Manaea Starting Game 2

Sean Manaea, the Mets’ ace for much of the season, will pitch Game 2. So far this postseason, Manaea has been solid and was dominant in his last outing in Game 3 of the NLDS. He went 7 innings with 6 strikeouts against the Phillies, and the Mets won 7-2. Overall, Manaea has a 2.25 ERA and 10 strikeouts this postseason. 

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