NEW YORK -- Kodai Senga's season debut was going about as well as the New York Mets could have hoped Friday night: The right-hander had nine strikeouts through five innings against the Atlanta Braves, and the Mets held a six-run lead in what would be an eventual 8-4 victory to take the top spot in the National League wild-card race.
Then Austin Riley hit a measly infield popup and Senga tumbled to the ground, writhing in pain, before the ball landed in first baseman Pete Alonso's glove.
Senga ended up on his back, grabbing his left calf. An athletic trainer rushed out to check on him. Senga stood up and limped off the field to an ovation from an appreciative -- and concerned -- home crowd.
Minutes later, the Mets announced Senga exited with a left calf strain. Senga, who was not made available to reporters after the game, is scheduled to undergo an MRI on Saturday. Manager Carlos Mendoza said he was told it was not an Achilles injury but hinted that Senga could miss an extended period.
"You hate to see him go down like that, especially after what he's been through the whole year," Mendoza said. "But people will step up if he's down."
For five innings, there was nothing to be concerned about. The shoulder injury that had landed Senga on the injured list to start the season was a distant memory. The mechanical hiccups that the cautious Senga cited as the reason for his longer-than-expected recovery period were nonexistent.
His only rough patch surfaced in the second inning when he gave up a leadoff single to Travis d'Arnaud. Two batters later, Adam Duvall swatted a two-run home run to give Atlanta a 2-0 lead.
The Mets, keeping to their recent form, responded with three home runs in a seven-run third inning, knocking Charlie Morton out of the game before he could record nine outs.
Senga didn't give up another hit across his 5⅓ innings. He issued one walk to the nine strikeouts. His four-seam fastball averaged 95.8 mph and touched 98. He induced 12 whiffs -- five with his signature forkball. He threw 73 pitches, six shy of his total from his fourth and final rehab start last Friday.
"The same guy I saw last year," Mets catcher Francisco Álvarez said. "He was nasty."
That guy last year posted a 2.98 ERA in 29 starts to finish second in NL Rookie of Year voting, seamlessly transitioning to the States after 11 professional seasons as a star in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball.
The Mets' decision to trade Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander as part of a midseason run of deals last summer -- and the front office's decision to not acquire a frontline starter over the winter -- elevated Senga to de facto ace entering spring training. But Senga was shut down with a right posterior capsule strain less than a week into camp -- so quickly that Mendoza never got the chance to watch Senga throw live until Friday.
"Pretty impressive," Mendoza said. "Nasty."
Between Senga's dominance and the offense's third-inning eruption, Citi Field was electric. That changed with Riley's popup. In a few seconds, Senga's return, a massive boost to the club's rotation for their playoff push, was soured.
For now, the Mets will return to life without him. They'll ditch their plans for a six-man rotation and roll with a standard five-man. Acquiring a starting pitcher before Tuesday's trade deadline isn't out of the realm of possibility.
Two months ago, the thought of the Mets adding pieces for a postseason push was laughable. But on Friday they snatched the top NL wild-card spot from the Braves, who were 10 games ahead in the standings on May 29 -- the day reliever Jorge Lopez threw his glove into the crowd during a 10-3 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Mets called a players-only meeting after the defeat. López was designated for assignment the next day.
Since then, the Mets are 33-16, good for the best record in the majors. They've done it all -- with the exception of 5⅓ innings Friday -- without Senga. Chances are they'll be without him again. The question is for how long.