Mets ace Kodai Senga returns, then leaves with left calf strain

NEW YORK — A rollicking night at Citi Field was interrupted in the sixth inning when Kodai Senga, making his first start of the season, collapsed to the turf holding his left calf.

Senga suffered the injury while getting out of the way of an infield popup. He immediately grabbed for the calf and stayed on the grass for a couple of minutes before walking off on his own. The New York Mets announced the injury as a left calf strain for Senga. He’ll undergo an MRI on Saturday.

“You hate to see him go down like that after all he’s been through all year,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “We just have to wait and see what we’re dealing with here.”

A strain means a trip to the injured list is imminent for Senga. How long he’ll be out depends on the severity of it — in which case, his ability to walk off the field could be a good sign. Some pitchers return from a calf strain in about 15 to 20 days. Others can take months. The Mets’ two calf strains last year, for Omar Narváez and Luis Guillorme, knocked each player out for two months.

Senga was making his season debut because of a shoulder injury he suffered at the start of spring training. His return had been delayed by mechanical issues and a triceps issue. Friday was actually the first time Mendoza had ever seen him pitch live.

Before the injury, Senga had been submitting a fine debut performance. After surrendering a blistering two-run homer to the Atlanta Braves’ Adam Duvall in the second, Senga retired 12 of the final 13 hitters he faced. He racked up nine strikeouts on the night compared with one walk, getting his fastball by batters in the zone and inducing chase on his trademark forkball.

The Mets led at the time of Senga’s departure 8-2; a win would see them leapfrog Atlanta into the top wild card in the National League. New York was 10 games behind Atlanta as recently as June 2.

The additional time Senga misses is critical to the Mets, who have been counting on the return of their ace to buttress their rotation. New York has missed having a frontline, bat-missing ace all season, and Senga’s imminent return had left the club fairly comfortable with the state of its starting rotation ahead of the trade deadline.

The Mets already placed rookie starter Christian Scott on the 15-day IL earlier this week with a right elbow strain.

“It’s obviously a big piece, losing him,” said J.D. Martinez. “The way he threw the ball today was amazing and exciting. Everyone’s just kind of next guy up. Let’s just keep rolling.”

The Mets won’t be replacing Senga’s spot in the rotation. They had bumped to a six-man rotation specifically to accommodate Senga’s rest; with the right-hander out, they’ll stick with the usual five-man rotation. That includes Tylor Megill, who is taking Scott’s spot on Saturday.

(Photo: Pamela Smith / Associated Press)