Senga's comeback to continue with start for Mets in Game 1 of NLCS vs Dodgers

NEW YORK (AP) — New York Mets pitcher Kodai Senga will start Game 1 of the National League Championship Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday, continuing his unlikely comeback from injuries that limited him to two starts this season.

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said Saturday that “everybody should be available and ready to go.”

“So it’s Senga and then we’ll see after that," he said before the Mets held a light workout prior to departing for Los Angeles.

Senga returned to the lineup in the NL Division Series. He started Game 1 against the Philadelphia Phillies on Oct. 5 and gave up one run over two innings in the Mets’ 6-2 win.

Senga missed the first 102 games this season due to a right shoulder capsule strain and lasted 5 1/3 innings in his lone regular-season start July 26, when he limited the Atlanta Braves to two runs before suffering a strained left calf.

Mendoza said the next day that if the Mets "get to see (Senga) pitch again this year, that means we’re in a good spot.” The 31-year-old made just one minor league rehab appearance.

“There’s not a number I have in mind,” Senga said via an interpreter when asked about his potential workload Saturday. “I’m going until they take the ball away from me and I’m going to go at 100% until then.”

Placing Senga back into the rotation allows the Mets to maximize the rest for Senga and the remainder of their rotation. Counting the appearance against the Phillies, Senga has made 26 of his 30 big league starts on at least five days of rest.

Sean Manaea, who will start Game 2 Monday, has thrown a career-high 193 2/3 innings while Luis Severino has tossed 194 innings, his most since 2018. David Peterson threw a career-high 121 regular-season innings and has emerged as a pivotal bullpen piece with 6 1/3 scoreless innings in the playoffs.

“From the beginning, we wanted to put our guys in what we felt was the best position to have success considering where they’re at physically,” Mendoza said. “For Senga, we wanted to keep it as close as possible to his routine. And then with some of the other guys, like I said, it’s because of where they’re at physically and who will benefit from an extra day.”

Senga may not be the only unexpected contributor for the Cinderella Mets in the NLCS. Jeff McNeil, whose regular season ended Sept. 6 when he suffered a broken right wrist after being hit by a pitch, went 1-for-4 with a walk while playing second base Friday night for the Scottsdale Scorpions of the Arizona Fall League.

Mendoza said McNeil was scheduled to play right field Saturday for Scottsdale and that there was “a good chance he’ll be on the roster” as long as he remains healthy.

“Kind of hit me, I think it was yesterday, when we were going through a lot of these conversations and I went back to when I announced that Senga was done for the regular season and then when Jeff gets hit and we get the results, it’s broke and he’s done,” Mendoza said. “And here we were yesterday, having those conversations. It was a good feeling — pretty incredible. I’m just glad that they are healthy now.”

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