SAN FRANCISCO — Kodai Senga, on normal rest, didn’t show signs of fatigue Sunday.
The Mets right-hander was strong into the sixth inning, positioning his team to rally for a 5-2 victory over the Giants at Oracle Park.
It was only the fifth time in his career that Senga pitched on the fifth day following a start. He’s usually been afforded at least the sixth day.
“Whatever the pitching schedule is, whether it’s regular rest or an extra day, as long as I know ahead of time and I am able to live on that schedule, then it’s no problem,” Senga said through an interpreter.
If the Mets rotation remains in order, Senga’s next turn will be Saturday against the Athletics at Citi Field. Senga and the others in the rotation will be pitching on extra rest because of Monday’s off-day.
On this day, Senga allowed two earned runs on five hits with seven strikeouts and two walks over 5 ²/₃ innings. He allowed two bloop singles in the sixth that factored into the two runs scored against him. Matt Chapman’s loud double was the other hit in the inning.
It was a continuation of what the Mets saw from Senga in his season debut against the Cardinals on Tuesday, when he struck out nine over six innings and allowed two earned runs on four hits.
“When you look at [Sunday’s] outing, only two hard-hit balls,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “Other than that, he pretty much dominated that lineup. The fastball, the cutter was a good pitch, the forkball to put hitters away and to steal strikes when he needed to. I think overall, he was outstanding.”
It follows a second-half meltdown last season that concluded with Senga agreeing to a minor league assignment. He spent September pitching for Triple-A Syracuse in an attempt to get on track mechanically.
“The biggest thing [Sunday] was I was able to throw healthily, and I was able to get out of it healthy,” Senga said.
He received help defensively, particularly from Jared Young, who fielded Jerar Encarnacion’s shot off the left field fence in the fifth inning and threw out Encarnacion attempting to reach second.
“It was amazing,” Senga said.
