Mets ace Kodai Senga took another step in his shoulder rehab Sunday, hurling 4.2 solid innings with Triple-A Syracuse while demonstrating superior efficiency compared to his previous start.
Senga limited Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, a Yankees affiliate, to one run on two hits, striking out three and walking two on 66 pitches in what was his third minor-league rehab start.
The right-hander is working his way back from the right shoulder strain that cropped up during spring training and has prevented him from pitching in the majors this season.
Senga, 31, retired the first seven batters Sunday and faced the minimum through three innings, using a pitch mix that included a mid-90s fastball, a cutter, a sweeper, a slider and his signature forkball.
He made the start on four days’ rest after primarily pitching on five or more days’ rest last season, which was his first in the U.S. after playing 11 years in his native Japan.
Senga ran into trouble in the fourth inning when a leadoff walk to Oswald Peraza and a single by T.J. Rumfield put runners on the corners with no outs. But Senga worked out of that jam with minimal damage, recording three consecutive outs, including a sacrifice fly by Agustin Ramirez.
Senga began the fifth with another leadoff walk but retired the next two batters, ending his afternoon with a swinging strikeout of Kevin Smith on an 82-mph slider.
The Mets have not determined Senga’s next step, with manager Carlos Mendoza saying Saturday that it was “TBD” whether the right-hander would need another minor-league outing or if his next start would come with the big-league club.
“We’ve got to give him Monday and then Tuesday to see how he’s responding,” Mendoza said. “We’ll have a better idea after he gets through [Sunday’s] outing.
Senga made his first minor-league rehab start on July 3 with High-A Brooklyn, firing 2.2 hitless innings with six strikeouts on 35 pitches. His second rehab appearances came last Tuesday with Syracuse, with Senga needing 52 pitches to get through another 2.2 scoreless innings.
Senga was shut down during spring training with a moderate strain of the posterior capsule in his right shoulder and experienced multiple setbacks in the subsequent months.
He was expected to begin the year as the Mets’ top starter after he went 12-7 with a 2.98 ERA and 202 strikeouts in 166.1 innings last season.
