Ed Odeven 
New York Mets hurler Kodai Senga fires a pitch to a Miami Marlins batter on April 7, 2025, at Citi Field in New York. (©GETTY IMAGES/via KYODO)
New York Mets starter Kodai Senga made his second consecutive start of the 2025 MLB season against the Miami Marlins on Monday, April 7. And he helped the Mets (7-3) extend their winning streak to five games.
After taking the loss in his MLB season debut on April 1, Senga bounced back with five scoreless innings against the visiting Marlins in the series opener at Citi Field.
The 32-year-old right-hander allowed five hits, walked two and struck out four in New York's 2-0 victory.
Senga departed the game after 77 pitches (47 strikes) and three Mets relievers, including Ryne Stanek who earned his first save of the season, preserved the shutout.
Prized free agent acquisition Juan Soto drove in the game's first run with an RBI double in the third inning. Mets teammate Tyrone Taylor extended the lead to 2-0 with a run-scoring single in the eighth.
In Senga's aforementioned season debut, he allowed three hits and two runs in five innings in a 4-2 loss to the Marlins. He fanned eight and walked one.
Facing the Marlins for the second time in seven days, Senga relied on an effective pitching repertoire to handcuff the Mets' National League East rival.
In the second inning, for instance, he recorded a pair of strikeouts, getting strike three both times on fastballs. Then, in the third inning, Senga threw three straight forkballs to Kyle Stowers, who fouled off the first two and then swung and missed a dastardly 81.5 mph pitch that darted out of the strike zone.
Kodai Senga Credits Mets Catcher for Success
After Monday's game, Senga pointed out that Mets catcher Hayden Senger played an important role in the team's victory.
"The first thing I could tell [was] the other team did their homework and researched me up pretty good," Senga said through an interpreter, according to the New York Daily News. "But we had a good game plan. Senger did a great job calling the game, and we had good results."
Dodgers Visit the White House, Lose Series Opener to Nationals
In other MLB news on Monday, slugger Shohei Ohtani and his reigning World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers teammates visited US President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington.
The ceremony honored the team's 2024 World Series title.
Later Monday, the Washington Nationals beat the Dodgers 6-4 in the three-game series opener at Nationals Park.
Ohtani went 3-for-4, smacking his first triple of the season and his fourth home run, a two-run blast off MacKenzie Gore with two outs in the third inning.
With the loss, LA fell to 9-3. The San Francisco Giants and San Diego Padres, with identical 8-2 records, now share the NL West lead.
Quotable
"It is special, but obviously I'm not here to win one game in the major leagues," Baltimore Orioles pitcher Tomoyuki Sugano, who is 35, told reporters on Saturday, April 5, in Kansas City, Missouri. "I'm here to win day-to-day and ultimately get the championship. After all that, I was still happy."
Sugano (1-1) earned his first MLB victory by holding the Kansas City Royals to five hits and a run in 5⅓ innings, striking out four and issuing one walk. Baltimore won 8-1.
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Author: Ed Odeven
Find Ed on JAPAN Forward's dedicated website, SportsLook. Follow his [Japan Sports Notebook] on Sundays, [Odds and Evens] during the week, and X (formerly Twitter) ＠ed_odeven.
