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PORT ST. LUCIE — Kodai Senga spent Friday night working on his mechanics, trying to get himself ready so that he can take his first turn in the Mets rotation after Clay Holmes was named the Opening Day starter earlier in the day.
The famously finicky Senga was fine in his latest Grapefruit League outing at Clover Park in a 53-pitch start in which he worked into the fourth inning against St. Louis and allowed seven hits and a pair of runs.
More importantly, he emerged from the outing in one piece, something that didn’t happen often a year ago.
“We know what he means to this team and this rotation,’’ Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “Everyone saw it in 2023. That’s what we’re looking for. If he’s healthy, he’s an ace. We need that. Right now, he’s trending in the right direction.”
By this point last spring, Senga was already dealing with the shoulder strain that derailed his first half.
Mendoza is seeing a different Senga this time around.
“Something I didn’t see last year was a smile on his face [and] joy,’’ Mendoza said. “Last year he was down early in camp and rehabbing. It’s good to see the way he’s carrying himself now.”
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Senga made just one regular-season start a year ago due to the shoulder injury and a calf strain — with some mechanical issues mixed in.
Before the game, Mendoza said the team hadn’t mapped out when Senga would make his first start of the year, as they are more focused on simply getting Senga ready for the year after the debacle of 2024.
On Friday, Senga said he wasn’t thinking much about when his first start would be.
“The most important thing is to get through the entire season healthy,” Senga said through an interpreter. “If I pitch the first game or another game doesn’t make a difference.”
On Friday, Senga added that he was trying out “different things” on the mound, using a mix of pitches that was more fastball-reliant than he would have during the regular season.
“I have a growing understanding of where my body is and what I can and cannot do at this point,’’ Senga said. “I have the next two weeks to fix those things.’’
The right-hander also debuted what he called the “Miracle Ball” on Friday night, a 63 mph pitch to St. Louis catcher Yohel Pozo that Pozo fouled off.
Afterward, Senga joked about the pitch, but was otherwise reluctant to talk much about the funky offering — deemed a curveball by Statcast — and said he’d be hesitant to throw a pitch that funky in a real game.
“A pitch that slow, I’d regret it if it gets hit,’’ Senga said.