Senga Makes First Spring Start; Wenninger Dominates

Kodai Senga and Jack Wenninger both had encouraging outings on Saturday for the New York Mets. Senga’s velocity ticked up and Wenninger was lights out as the Mets defeated the Cardinals 3-2.

Off the heels of recovering from a hamstring strain last season, Senga was back on the mound for his first start of spring on Saturday. He threw 2 2/3 innings, giving up two earned runs on three hits and struck out two. His first strikeout was on an 87 mph slider. Overall he threw 50 pitches (34 for strikes).

While he did give up two long balls Saturday, what right-handed starter and the Mets were happy about is his up-tick in velocity. Senga clocked a fastball at 98.9 mph and averaged around 96.7 mph on his fastball overall, an up-tick from last season. Home runs aside, it was a productive spring outing for Senga and the Mets were pleased.

Senga spoke to the media following his outing on Saturday. He said, “This outing was really good. I think it’s pretty clear when I’m not feeling great, the velo doesn’t tick up like that,” he noted.

He stated one of the most important things he did was making some mechanical changes. “Battling back from that injury in 2024, getting myself, getting my body right to where I need to be so that I can perform and I feel like I’m there right now.” Senga said he still has a lot to prove this season coming into the season. He talked about how it’s either you perform or you don’t, and for him, he hasn’t performed to his peak yet.

After Senga, and some other strong performances out of the bullpen, Jack Wenninger closed out the day emphatically for New York. He threw three shutout innings, giving up just three hits and he struck out five as he continues to make a great case for himself ahead of the camp break.

Notably, Wenninger got 11 swings-and-misses on 25 swings, seven of which came on his splitter. He also touched 97.4 mph, a great sign for his velocity as well for the Mets’ No. 7 prospect.

He now has a 2.70 ERA over the course of 6 2/3 innings this spring. The right-handed pitcher has 10 strikeouts to go along with the two earned runs.

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