NEW YORK METS NOTES:
METSCELLANEOUS: The Mets earned their second win of the season with a 6-2 victory over the Fish yesterday…The Mets are going for their first series victory of the season today…The Mets continue their first road trip of the season, a seven-game trip to Miami (2-1) and Milwaukee (three games).
LET’S GO FISHING: The Mets are now 53-47 at loanDepot park…The team has won four of their last five here and nine of their last 12 games at the yard…The team owns a 3.44 ERA at the yard and has hit .250/.325/.406.
RISPY BUSINESS: Last night the Marlins went 0-7 with runners in scoring position…Over the last three games, Mets pitching has held the Marlins to three hits in 22 at bats with runners in scoring position…That equates to a .136 opponent average in RISP situations…Last season, the Mets ranked fourth in the majors and second in the NL with a .228 opponent average with runners in scoring position.
FEELS LIKE THE FIRST TIME: Kodai Senga is set to make his major league debut today against the Marlins…Senga will become the 14th Japanese-born player to appear in at least one game for the Mets, the most by any major league team…He was signed by the Mets to a five-year contract in December of 2022…He enters the season as the 16th-best prospect in baseball according to Baseball America…The right-handed pitcher spent the past 11 seasons in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball with the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks and went 87-44 with a 2.59 ERA (313 ER/1089.0 IP) and 1,252 strikeouts (10.3 K/9.0) in his NPB career…Is a three-time NPB All-Star (2013, 2017, 2019), a two-time Pacific League Best Nine Award winner (2019, 2020) and a two-time Mitsui Golden Glove Award winner (2019, 2020).
DEBUT NOTES: Today, Senga is slated to become the 64th pitcher whose major league debut came in a start for the Mets…Masato Yoshii is the only other Japanese-born pitcher to make his MLB debut in a start for the Mets… New York has had one pitcher make his MLB debut as a starter in each of the previous three seasons: José Butto in 2022, Tylor Megill in 2021 and David Peterson in 2020 (the Mets won each of those three games)…Peterson is the most recent Mets hurler to win as a starter in his major league debut… Overall, 15 Mets have started and earned a win in their major league debut (eight Mets have won in relief in their MLB debut)…Matt Harvey (2012) is the only pitcher in Mets history to record a double-digit strikeout game in his major league debut.
Player …………………… Year with Mets
Norichika Aoki …………………………….2017
Ryota Igarashi………………….. 2010-2011
Kazuhisa Ishii………………………………2005
Takashi Kashiwada……………………..1997
Satoru Komiyama ………………………2002
Daisuke Matsuzaka ………….2013-2014
Kazuo Matsui…………………..2004-2006
Player …………………… Year with Mets
Hideo Nomo ………………………………..1998
Kodai Senga ……………………………..2023-
Tsuyoshi Shinjo………………. 2001, 2003
Hisanori Takahashi ……………………. 2010
Ken Takahashi …………………………….2009
Shingo Takatsu…………………………..2005
Masato Yoshii……………………1998-1999
METS JAPANESE-BORN PLAYERS
STEAL THIS BASE: The Mets have stolen three bases this season…New York has a stolen base in each of its first three games for the first time since the 1993 season…The team’s three steals places them tied for the National League lead and tied for fifth in the majors…In 2022, the Mets stole a total of 58 bases, which placed them 23rd in the majors and 12th in the majors.
THE PEN IS MIGHTIER: In three games this year, the Mets bullpen has allowed one run in 10.0 innings, good for a 0.90 ERA…They have allowed seven hits, striking out 11 and issuing only one walk…The team’s 0.90 ERA is fourth in the majors and second in the Senior Circuit…Last year, the Mets bullpen posted a 3.50 ERA, which ranked third in the National League.
OMAR’S COMING YO!: In three games with the Mets, Omar Narváez is 3-7 with a run, two RBI and a walk…In December, the Mets signed catcher Narváez to a one-year contract with a player option for 2024…He is a .412 (7-17) hitter with two runs, a double, three RBI and four walks in six career games at loanDepot park.
CANHA GET AN AMEN?: Mark Canha went 3-4 with three runs, a double, a home runs, a walk and two RBI in yesterday’s victory over the Marlins…He is in his second year with the Mets and has hit .267/.369/.409 with 74 runs, 25 doubles, 14 home runs, 63 RBI and 50 walks in 143 games with the club.
THE EAST IS A BEAST: The Mets are 2-1 against the division this year…The team went 50-26 against the East in 2022…Their .658 winning percentage against the East was the best mark in club history…They lost only three series in the division all season long (against Atlanta, August 15-18, Washington, September 2-4 and September 30-October 2 at Atlanta)…They won the season series vs. Philadelphia, Washington and Miami…Overall, the Mets posted a 3.38 ERA against the East, while hitting .262/.335/.425…The Mets outscored their divisional opponents, 380-272.
DAY MAN!: The Mets are 2-0 in day games this year…In 2022, the Mets went 39-19 in day games…The team’s .672 winning percentage in the sunlight was the second-best in the National League and third-best in the majors…The Mets posted a 3.16 ERA with 150 walks and 564 strikeouts in the daytime last year…Their 3.16 ERA in the daytime was third in the majors and second in the NL.
A STARLING IS BORN: Starling Marte is 5-9 with a run, an RBI, a double, a walk and two steals in three games this season…Marte has batted .297/.351/.472 with 77 runs, 25 doubles, five triples, 16 home runs, 63 RBI, 27 walks and 20 steals in 1211 games as a member of the Mets…Marte owns a .309/.371/.450 slash-line with 50 runs, 12 doubles, two triples, eight home runs, 32 RBI, 20 walks and 21 steals in 75 career games at loanDepot ballpark.
DOUBLE DARE: The Mets have recorded seven doubles this season which is tied for fourth in the major leagues.
FOR PETE’S SAKE: Pete Alonso socked the first Mets home run of the year on Friday…He has hit 12 home runs in 31 career games at the ballpark…That is tied with the Nationals Park for his most home runs at an opponent’s ballpark.
Rank Player HR GAMES
5th Dave Kingman 154 664
6th Carlos Beltrán 149 839
7th Pete Alonso 147 533
Rank Player RBI GAMES
15thMichael Conforto 396 757
16th Dave Kingman 389 664
17th Pete Alonso 381 533
METS ALL-TIME LEADERS
ONLY A FEW CAN COM-PETE: Pete Alonso set a franchise single-season RBI record with 131 last year…His 131 RBI were tied for the major league lead and led the National League…Only once before in franchise history has a Met finished the season with the most or tied for the most RBI…Howard Johnson recorded a career-best 117 RBI in 1991 to lead the National League…He had 27 game-winning RBI season, the most since the stat was first tracked in 1974…His 35 go-ahead RBI were tied for the second-most in a single season in Mets history…Keith Hernandez had 36 go-ahead RBI in 1985.
HITTING THE ROAD: New York is 2-1 on the road his year…The team finished the 2022 season going 47-34 on the road…Their .580 road winning
percentage placed them third in the majors and second in the NL…It was tied for the fourth-best road record in team history and the highest road-winning percentage since 2007…Overall, they hit .265/.334/.424 away from Citi Field…Their .265 road average was second in the majors and the best in the NL, while their .334 OBP led The Show…They ranked fourth in MLB and second in the Senior Circuit with a .424 SLG…Brandon Nimmo (.406), Jeff McNeil (.399) and Mark Canha (.378) ranked three through five in road OBP in the National League.
STARTING PITCHER – KODAI SENGA RHP #34
SENGA NEWS & NOTES
MLB DEBUT: Senga is making his MLB Debut today against the Miami Marlins after spending the first 11 seasons of his pro career with the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball…His desire to play in MLB came from his experience playing against major league stars in the 2017 World Baseball Classic…He enters the season as the 16th-best prospect in baseball according to Baseball America.
DEBUT NOTES: Today, Senga will become the 64th pitcher whose major league debut came in a start for the Mets…New York has had one pitcher make his MLB debut as a starter in each of the previous three seasons: José Butto in 2022, Tylor Megill in 2021 and David Peterson in 2020 (the Mets won each of those three games)…Peterson is the most recent Mets hurler to win as a starter in his major league debut…Overall, 15 Mets have started and earned a win in their major league debut (eight Mets have won in relief in their MLB debut)… Matt Harvey (2012) is the only pitcher in Mets history to record a double-digit strikeout game in his major league debut.
NOW YOU SEE IT, NOW YOU DON’T: Included in Senga’s pitching repertoire is a unique pitch called the ‘ghost fork’…The pitch is so named because its break gives the appearance that it disappears out of the strike zone.
METS-JAPAN CONNECTION: With his start today, Senga becomes the 14th Japanese-born player to appear in at least one game for the Mets, the most by any major league team…The last Japanese-born player to appear in a game for the Mets was OF Norichika Aoki in 2017.
FIRST SPRING IN THE STATES: Senga made three starts in Spring Training and went 1-2 with a 4.00 ERA (4 ER/9.0 IP)…The right-hander had 10 strikeouts and held opposing hitters to .194 average in Grapefruit League play…In his final tuneup before the regular season, Senga allowed two runs over 4.0 innings with three strikeouts on March 22 against Houston.
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS: Prior to joining the Mets, Senga spent 11 seasons in Japan’s NPB with the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks…During his NPB career he posted a 87-44 record with a 2.59 ERA (313 ER/1,089.0 IP) and 1,252 strikeouts (10.3 K/9.0)…He was also a three-time NPB All-Star (2013, 2017 and 2019), a two-time Pacific League Best Nine Award winner (2019 and 2020) and a two-time Mitsui Golden Glove Award winner (2019 and 2020).
INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION: Senga appeared in four games in the 2017 World Baseball Classic for Team Japan…He posted a 0.82 ERA, throwing 11.0 innings and allowing one run on seven hits with 16 strikeouts and one walk…He also pitched in two games during the Tokyo Summer Olympics, throwing a total of 3.0 scoreless innings as Japan won the gold medal on its home turf. 2022: Last season, Senga went 11-6 with a 1.94 ERA (31 ER/144.0 IP), 156 strikeouts, a 1.06 WHIP and a 0.4 HR/9 rate over 22 appearances.
MIAMI MARLINS NOTES:
MARLINS MINUTE
The Marlins today wrap up their opening series with the final of four games against the New York Mets, looking to split the series. Miami will continue their opening homestand with a three-game set against the Twins, their first of 15 Interleague series in 2023, starting Monday. The club’s first road trip includes a three-game series against the Mets that starts on April 6, with a built-in off day on April 7, before heading to play the reigning National League-champion Phillies from April 10-12.
YESTERDAY’S RECAP
The Marlins suffered their second loss of the season, 6-2, as RHP Edward Cabrera walked a career-high 6 batters through 4.0 innings, but limiting the Mets offense to just 2 runs on 2 hits. C Nick Fortes put the Marlins ahead early with a 2-run shot in the 2nd inning to erase an early 1-0 deficit. The Mets tacked on runs in 4 separate innings to take back the lead for good. INF Luis Arraez tied his career high with 4 hits.
GOOD FIRST IMPRESSIONS
INF Luis Arraez is 7×12 (.583) in his first three games, becoming the fourth player in club history to record 7-or-more hits through three games played as a Marlin, and the first since Emilio Bonifacio had eight hits through three games in 2009 (Cameron Maybin had nine in 2008 and Jeff Conine had eight in 1993).
• Arraez became just the second player in Marlins history to reach base safely as the starting leadoff hitter in each of the first three games to start a season. In 2006, Hanley Ramirez reached safely from the leadoff spot in the first inning in four consecutive starts (credit: Elias).
• His .583 avg. ranks third in the NL and his seven hits are tied for the most in MLB with Colorado’s C.J. Cron.
• His 4×5 effort yesterday was just the third time a Marlin has recorded four hits in a game since the start of the 2022 season (Jazz Chisholm Jr., 4 hits, 4/23/22 and Bryan De La Cruz, 4 hits, 9/24/22).
MAKE IT A TEN
The Marlins have recorded 10 hits in consecutive games for the first time since Sept. 7 – Sept. 9 of last season when they did so in three straight games. In all of 2022, they had consecutive games with 10-plus hits six times, with the three-game stretch in September being the longest.
CELEBRATING OUR CHAMPIONS
During the club’s series against the Twins, the Marlins will honor three players on the active roster who earned high honors last season: Sandy Alcantara, 2022 NL Cy Young (Monday, April 3), Luis Arraez, 2022 AL Batting Champion and Silver Slugger (Tuesday, April 4), and Jon Berti, 2022 NL Stolen Base champion. Following the presentation of their awards, the trophies will be on display on the promenade level.
HOMER TIME
The Marlins have scored six of their seven runs this season via home runs – hitting four homers total over the first three games. Didn’t hit their fourth homer until the fifth game last year.
FUERTE FORTES
C Nick Fortes made his second consecutive start in yesterday’s game, going 2×3 with a home run and a single. His 2-run shot went 422 ft., the longest of his first 14 career home runs (88 gms.). 6 of his 14 home runs (42.8%) have been go-ahead, including 2 against the New York Mets (walk-off home run on June 26, 2022 off Adam Ottavino).
TURNING THE TRENDING TIDE
The Marlins played their first one run game of the season Friday night, emerging with the win. Miami played 64 games decided by 1 run in 2022, the most such games in the Majors last season. Miami’s 40 one-run losses were the most such losses in a season in club history, the most since the 1975 Houston Astros (41), and just three shy of the single-season record for one-run losses during the Live Ball Era (since 1920) held by the 1968 White Sox (44).
• The Marlins started last season playing one-run games in each of their first three games and five of their first six.
NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK
The Marlins roster is re-shaped from last season, featuring six players who did not appear in with the organization last year.
• Offensively, Miami acquired infielder Luis Arraez from Minnesota. The reigning American League batting champion posted a .316 avg. (173×547) in 2022 and owns a .314 avg. in four career Major League seasons. The club also signed free-agent infielder Jean Segura to a two-year deal with a club option for a third year. Segura, a two-time All-Star and the 2016 NL hits leader, has averaged 6.7 AB/SO during his 11-year professional career, the third-best mark since 2012 among players with at least 1,300 games played. The newest addition to the Marlins lineup is two-time World Series champion and 2021 AL Batting Champion Yuli Gurriel, who hit 40 doubles last season for the World Series champion
Houston Astros.
• Miami bolstered the starting rotation with the signing of free-agent pitcher Johnny Cueto. The 15-year veteran is a 2015 World Series champion and two-time All-Star, owning a career 143-107 record and 3.44 ERA in 355 appearances (353 starts). To add to the back end, the Marlins acquired right-handed reliever Matt Barnes from Boston, who posted a 1.59 ERA (22.2 IP/4 ER) with six saves in his final 24 appearances of 2022. Additionally, Miami acquired former first-round selection A.J. Puk from Oakland. The southpaw led the Athletics bullpen with 76 strikeouts last year in his first full season in the big leagues.
TODAY’S STARTER – 28 TREVOR ROGERS
• Trevor Rogers, 25, made 23 starts in his sophomore campaign coming off a runner-up ROTY season in 2021. Made two separate IL stints, including a season-ending lat strain.
• Recorded his 200th career strikeout against the first batter he faced on April 16, 2022. This made him the first left-hander in MLB history to strikeout 200 hitters in his first 34 games (all coming as starts) while maintaining a career ERA under 3.25. He is just the 12th pitcher to accomplish this feat (All 11 others were right-handed).
• Made 19 starts from the start of the season until July 25 when he was placedon the IL with low back spasms. Allowed three runs or more in 11 of those outings. Pitched to a 5.85 ERA, going 5-14 with 41 walks and 83 strikeouts.
• Held lefties to a .194 batting avg, .296 slugging pct., .584 OPS and just 1 home run (111 BF). Right handed batters hit .299 with a .520 slugging pct., .886 OPS and had 14 home runs(366 BF).
• Struck out a season-high nine batters vs. Texas on Sept. 12. Went 6.1 innings, also a season-high.
• Missed 31 games with low back spasms (July 26 to August 31).
• Has allowed 14 home runs in 106.2 IP in 2022 after allowing 6 in 133.0 IP in 2021.
• Went 1-3 with a 5.09 ERA (17.2 IP/10 ER) in four starts in the month of April, last season. Struck out 14 batters against nine walks.
