Rays’ Six-Run Sixth Sinks Nats-Sweep-Riding Mets, but Senga Injury Update Offers Relief
The New York Mets wrapped up their business with Washington on Thursday like they’ve handled just about everything in Queens this season—with a win. The pre-weekend 4-3 victory over the Nationals secured a sweep and marked New York’s sixth straight, pushing them to a league-best 45-24.
But for a team built on pitching, that win came at a cost.
The Tampa Bay Rays rolled into Queens on Friday and, despite Clay Holmes holding them to one run through five, the Mets’ bullpen unraveled in the sixth, allowing six runs that turned the game on its head and left the offense with too much ground to make up for a 7-5 loss to open the series.
Thursday Recap: Senga Dominates, Then Exits
Kodai Senga was at his absolute best, holding the Nats to one hit across 5.2 scoreless innings with five strikeouts, one walk, and the Ghost Fork aficionado lowered his ERA to a league-best 1.47.
His exit wasn’t planned. While covering first base on a chopper to Pete Alonso, Senga jumped for a high throw with his body fairly extended, and rolled out of the first baseline in the grass in visible pain.
What Senga did after speaks volumes about the type of teammate he is (and has been this whole time). He didn’t let Alonso shoulder it. He had translator Hiro Fujiwara deliver the message to Pete directly that it wasn’t his fault, and he had felt something in his leg before he even jumped up. It is a reminder that Senga has his guys’ backs, even when in pain and even when sidelined.
Offensive Power
Brandon Nimmo homered again Thursday—his third in two games—and Jeff McNeil opened that finale with a three-run shot in the first inning. He’s hitting .270 with a .911 OPS since May 26, looking more and more like the table-setter this offense needs.
Tyrone Taylor made a game-saving diving grab Thursday, and Huascar Brazobán stranded another inherited runner—he’s now allowed just 2-of-20 to score this season. Edwin Díaz held the line in the ninth, surviving a brief scare to notch his 14th save.
Good News Despite Friday Night Loss to Tampa Bay
A day later, the Mets’ win streak ended with a 7-5 loss to the Rays, but Carlos Mendoza provided a postgame silver lining: Senga’s hamstring strain is a Grade 1.
It’s the least severe diagnosis possible, and the right-hander will be shut down for two weeks before being re-evaluated. Compared to last year’s shoulder and calf setbacks that kept him shelved most of the season, this is good news. The Mets are optimistic.
Mendoza and David Stearns stressed that they’ve been through this rehab process before, and this time, the communication is clear, the trust is established, and the plan is in place.
Senga is meticulous with his mechanics and recovery work—he’s built for the long game. He may be off the mound for a bit, but if this team has shown anything, it’s that they’re adaptable and ready to deploy alternates.
Rotation Tested, But Still Standing
Clay Holmes gave the Mets five strong on Friday, allowing just one run in another measured outing.
The former reliever is stretching into this starter role with poise—his ERA now sits at 2.87—and Mendoza had him on a preplanned pitch count to not exceed 85 total after some soreness from his last Coors Field outing.
Early Lead with Power and Pressure
Before things turned in Tampa’s favor on Friday, Starling Marte, who went 3-4 with three singles and a walk, drove in three runs, and Jeff McNeil stayed hot with a walk and a single,
Juan Soto extended his on-base streak to 15 games with a reach on a fielding error, a four-pitch walk, a left-field single in the bottom of the seventh, and nearly tied it with a a loud flyout in the eighth (let me just say, with an exit velo at 110.8 mph, and launch angle at 22 degrees—somehow 357ft doesn’t add up, but I digress).
Bullpen Stung by Rays Offense
Holmes had held the line, but the wheels fell off fast once Paul Blackburn took over. Three batters in—Brandon Lowe single, Yandy Díaz single, Jonathan Aranda single—and Citi Field’s one-run cushion was gone. Jake Mangum, a familiar face from the Mets’ own farm system, made it sting with a two-run knock that flipped the game on its head.
That brought in Max Kranick for damage control, but he couldn’t stop the bleeding. Kameron Misner tied it with an RBI single, and Danny Jansen delivered the knockout blow—a two-run homer into the visiting bullpen that capped a six-run sixth inning.
Unfortunately, this unraveling erased all the early momentum that Holmes and the offense had built. Nonetheless, this is a game of adjustments. And with Senga sidelined, an unexpected shuffle in the relief sequence to account for a rotational opening is not the end of the world.
Alonso HBP No. 9 Paid For With 2B No. 22
In the fourth inning Friday, Pete Alonso nearly wore a 96 mph four-seamer from Taj Bradley to the skull. Alonso’s been hit nine times this season, fifth-most in the league, and frankly, the possibility of “coincidence” keeps shrinking.
But in typical Polar Bear fashion, he shook it off and came right back to mash his 22nd double of the year. No theatrics, no complaints—just barrel. It’s become clockwork: brush him back, piss him off, and pay for it.
And because once clearly wasn’t enough, Alonso took a sixth-pitch fastball off the foot in the seventh inning, too.
Mets’ Injury Bug, June Bloom, and On Deck
Yes, the rotation is being held together with guts, grit, and a lot of next-man-up energy.
Senga joins Frankie Montas on the IL, while Sean Manaea will return soon. But Holmes, Tylor Megill, David Peterson, and Griffin Canning have all delivered, and Mendoza’s staff still leads MLB in ERA.
And more than that, they lead the National League East. If the rest of this Mets roster has proven anything this year, it’s that they’re more than equipped to hold the line until their ace returns.
In the meantime, they’ll keep defending their house. These Mets are in every single game until the last out.
