Senga, Soto take Bite out of Snakes in Mets 7-1 Win

Mets 7 DIamondbacks 1 (Chase Field, Phoenix, AZ.)

Mets Record: 24-14

Mets Streak: W 1

Mets Last 10: 5-5

WP: Kodai Senga (4-2)

LP: Merrill Kelly (3-2)

Seat On The Korner: KODAI SENGA

We select the star of the game and virtually invite him to a Seat on the Korner, just as Ralph Kiner used to do for his studio postgame show on WOR-channel 9 broadcasts in the early decades of the Mets.

On a night when the Mets flashed leather and Juan Soto flexed his power, it was Kodai Senga who quietly stole the show. The right-hander battled early command issues—issuing five walks—but never broke, tossing six shutout innings while allowing just two hits and striking out four. Senga calmly pitched around traffic, using his signature ghost fork to escape jams and frustrate Arizona hitters. Remarkably, he has now allowed just five earned runs across eight starts this season (38.2 IP), good for a sparkling 1.16 ERA. Even more impressive? After surrendering a two-run homer to Kyle Stowers in his first inning of the year, Senga has not allowed a home run to the last 150 batters he's faced, a streak spanning six consecutive homerless starts—the longest of his career. He may not have had his sharpest command, but Senga's grit, poise, and refusal to give in made him the undeniable star of the game.

So, in the spirit of tradition, we proudly select Kodai Senga as our Star of the Game and virtually invite him to a seat on the Korner—just as Ralph Kiner used to do on those classic WOR-Channel 9 Mets broadcasts, when a strong outing meant not just a win, but a chat with the voice of Mets lore. Here's hoping Senga’s interpreter is ready—Ralph would’ve had a ball with the ghost fork.

Need To Know:

• The Mets snapped a two-series losing streak.

• The Mets concluded this six-game road trip (3-3) to St. Louis (1-2) and Arizona (2-1).

• The Mets have lost back-to-back games only three times this

  season...They have not dropped three straight games since September 24-28, 2024.

• Pete Alonso streak of reaching base safely in 18 straight games game to an end.That is the second-longest streak of his career...Alonso reached base safely in a career-best 34 straight games from August 2-September 9, 2019...In his current streak, he is batting .338 (22-65) with 14 runs, five doubles, one triple, four home runs, 13 RBI, 14 walks.

• The Mets have hit into six double plays in the first two games of the series.

• Merrill Kelly is making his seventh career start and fourth at Chase Field, where he’s 1-2 with a 3.92 ERA (9 ER in 20.2 IP) and 22 strikeouts;

• Lourdes Gurriel Jr. came into the game batting .364 (12-for-33) with 5 doubles, 2 homers, 6 RBI and 2 walks over his last 9 games. The Mets pitchers held him to an 0-4

• Josh Naylor came into the game hitting .333 (9-for-27) with 3 doubles, 6 RBI and 4 walks in his last 8 games. The Mets pitchers held him to an 0-4

• Today’s game featured the National League’s top three on-base leaders since April 1: Pete Alonso (69), and Geraldo Perdomo and Francisco Lindor (58 each).

• Jeff McNeil was lifted for a pinch runner after legging out a triple where he appeared to hurt himself.

  
  

Turning Point:

The bottom of the third inning was shaping up to be a major turning point—and potentially a disaster—for Kodai Senga, who had clearly been laboring early. Back-to-back walks to Jose Herrera and Corbin Carroll brought an early mound visit and a sense of unease in the Mets dugout. But the key moment may have come with Geraldo Perdomo at the plate. Perdomo, second in the National League in hits with 58, laid down a surprise bunt—a curious decision given his hot bat. Catcher Luis Torrens reacted instantly, pouncing on the ball and firing a strike to Brett Baty to cut down the lead runner at third. That defensive gem changed the inning’s tone. One pitch later, Pavin Smith grounded into a textbook 4-6-3 double play, and just like that, what looked like a brewing rally turned into a sigh of relief and a clean escape for Senga and the Mets.

Three Keys:

LEATHER WEATHER

The gloves were on full display in this one, with both sides flashing serious leather throughout the game. Tyrone Taylor made his now-daily web gem in the bottom of the second, sprinting into the left-center gap on a double from Alek Thomas. His perfect relay to Francisco Lindor was textbook, and Lindor, in turn, put on a clinic in footwork and timing, pivoting smoothly and firing a strike to the plate where Luis Torrens applied the tag to nail Eugenio Suárez trying to score. Torrens was in the middle of the action all night, later gunning down Corbin Carroll on a stolen base attempt with a perfect throw. Pete Alonso chipped in with a highlight of his own, diving to his right to rob Carroll of a potential extra-base hit—though it might’ve been an out anyway had Kodai Senga remembered to cover first instead of watching like the rest of us. Not to be outdone, Eugenio Suárez made a pair of slick plays at third, showing quick reactions and a cannon arm to keep the Mets off the basepaths. In a game full of tense moments, the defense was nothing short of electric.

SOTO GOES BOOM TWICE

Juan Soto continued his personal demolition tour of the Diamondbacks with another two-homer game—the second time in a week he’s gone deep twice against Arizona pitching. His first blast was a solo shot that left no doubt, but the second was the real backbreaker: a towering homer that turned a tight game into a cushion for the Mets. Soto is locked in at the plate, batting .298 (20-for-67) over his last 18 games with 15 runs scored, five doubles, four homers, and nine RBIs. He’s walked 13 times in that span and even swiped a bag for good measure. More importantly, he’s reached base safely in 11 straight games, a testament to his plate discipline and all-fields power. Right now, Soto isn’t just seeing the ball—he’s punishing it, and the Diamondbacks are learning that the hard way.

DIAMONDBACKS PEN IS POISONOUS IN THE NINTH

What had been a manageable 4–1 deficit for the Diamondbacks quickly turned into a full-blown laugher in the top of the ninth, thanks to a bullpen implosion headlined by José Castillo’s disaster of an outing. After a quick first out, Castillo walked José Azocar, then watched him steal second . Another walk to Tyrone Taylor followed, prompting a mound visit that did nothing to slow the unraveling. Francisco Lindor then ripped a two-run double to left, blowing the game open at 6–1. Lindor promptly swiped third for good measure and came home on a Juan Soto sacrifice fly to make it 7–1. By the time Pete Alonso struck out to end the frame, the damage had been done—what was once a tight contest had become a one-sided mess. The D-backs bullpen didn’t just pour gasoline on the fire—they brought marshmallows and turned it into a bonfire.

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