Mets Milestones From Senga & Lindor In Nightcap

 

Kodai Senga striking out Xavier Edwards for #199 on the season in the third inning. Photo by Jason Schott.

The second game of the Mets' doubleheader with the Marlins featured Kodai Senga's final start of a superb first year in Flushing for the Japanese import, and with that came some history from him and another one of their key contributors.

Senga needed six strikeouts to hit the 200 K mark for the season, and he hit it with his strikeout of Jake Burger to end the third inning. Yes, six of the first nine outs Senga recorded were via the strikeout.

That brought a massive ovation from the crowd and Senga took a curtain call between innings, and there was an acknowledgment on the center field video board.

The crowd buzzing after Senga returned to the dugout on his history-making strikeout. Photo by Jason Schott.

Senga is just the second rookie in Mets history to have 200 strikeouts in a season, with the first being no surprise: Dwight Gooden in 1984.

That wasn't all for Senga, as he notched another two strikeouts, one apiece in the fourth and fifth innings, before he exited.

The Marlins were able to touch Senga up for a pair of solo home runs. Jon Berti led off the game with a solo shot to left-center field in the top of the first, and Jesus Sanchez blasted one into the bullpen in the top of the fourth.

Senga went five innings, and he allowed those two runs on three hits and three walks, with eight strikeouts. He wound up with a no-decision to give him a record of 12-7 on the season, and his ERA went up a tick on the night to 2.98, but keeping it under 3 was significant, especially since he is in Cy Young Award conversation.

In his 29 starts, Senga threw 166 1/3 innings, and allowed 55 earned runs (60 overall) on 126 hits and 77 walks, giving him a WHIP (walks and hits per innings pitched) of 1.22.

The 202 strikeouts he notched gave him a K/9 inning rate of 10.93. He had five outings of 10-or-more strikeouts this season.

Francisco Lindor had a two-run home run in the Mets' 11-2 win in Game 1, and he kept the momentum going in the second game.

The shortstop blasted one to right field in his first at-bat to lead off the second inning.

Then, he was set to lead off the fourth, and he blasted one deep into the bullpen to tie the game at 2, and that sent Citi Field into a frenzy again.

That home run gave Lindor 30 home runs on the season, and a 30-30 campaign, as he has 30 stolen bases on the season.

Francisco Lindor gestures to the crowd as he crossed home plate on #30. Photo by Jason Schott.

Lindor is now just the fourth Met in history to have a 30-30 season, as Howard Johnson had three (1987, '89, and '91), Darryl Strawberry had one (also 1987), and David Wright in 2007.

That Lindor home run tied the game at 2, and it stayed that way until the ninth inning when the Marlins broke through against Mets reliever Adam Ottavino.

Edwards opened the inning with a single, moved to third base on a single by Berti. and he came in to score when Brett Baty committed an error on a hit by Yuri Gurriel.

That gave Miami the lead, and then Berti came in to score on a single by Bryan De La Cruz that put them ahead 4-2, which would be the final.