Mets to start Senga in G1, Manaea in G2 of NLCS vs. Dodgers

NEW YORK -- Kodai Senga will start Game 1 of the National League Championship Series against the Dodgers on Sunday, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza announced Saturday. Sean Manaea will start Game 2 on Monday.

Game 1 starter is the spot the Mets envisioned for Senga when they reported for spring training with the right-hander as their ace. Getting there, however, went sideways.

Senga didn't make his season debut until July 26 after beginning the season on the injured list with a strained posterior capsule in his right shoulder. He exited that July outing in the sixth inning with a strained calf that knocked him out for the remainder of the regular season. Only the Mets reaching the postseason could offer Senga a path back to the mound in 2024.

That happened, and Senga returned to toss two innings in Game 1 of the NL Division Series against the Philadelphia Phillies. He allowed one run -- a leadoff home run in the first inning to Kyle Schwarber -- and had three strikeouts in the Mets' 6-2 road win.

This time, Senga will encounter a dangerous Dodgers lineup in Los Angeles with a longer leash. Mendoza said Senga could log at least three innings. Senga declined to put a limit on his start.

"There's not a number I have in mind," the 31-year-old Senga said through an interpreter. "I'm going until they take the ball away from me. And I'm going to go 100% until then."

The Mets chose to have Senga start Game 1 over Manaea, the team's ace since July, on regular rest after the left-hander held the Phillies to one run over seven innings in their NLDS-clinching Game 4 win.

"From the beginning, we wanted to put our guys in what we felt was the best position to have success," Mendoza said, "considering where they are physically."

One factor in the decision, Mendoza noted, was keeping Senga, a very routine-oriented pitcher, "as close as possible to his routine." But that could change later in the series.

Senga has been tasked to pitch on normal rest -- four days between starts -- in just three of his 31 starts since joining the Mets last season from Japan. He posted a 4.61 ERA across 13 innings in those outings. The fourth time could come in a potential Game 5 at Citi Field.

"I'm ready for anything," Senga said. "I don't anticipate getting to 100 pitches tomorrow. And how many days I have in between it, it doesn't matter at this point. We need to win the game, so whenever they call on me, I'm ready."