Kodai Senga Tosses Successful Rehab Start, But Syracuse Falls in Ten Innings to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, 8-6

July 9, 2024 – International League (IL)
Syracuse Mets News Release

Syracuse Mets’ Kodai Senga in action
(Syracuse Mets, Credit: Herm Card)

Syracuse, NY – The Syracuse Mets received a cameo from a former MLB All-Star on Tuesday evening as Kodai Senga made a successful short rehab start at NBT Bank Stadium. From there, the game turned into a battle of wills. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre rallied back from an early four-run deficit, plating eight of the game’s final ten runs to beat the Syracuse Mets by an 8-6 final in ten innings to start the weeklong, six-game series. The game took three hours and 38 minutes to complete, the longest game of the season for the Mets. Each team also used seven pitchers in the marathon of a baseball game.

Syracuse (53-34, 7-6) gave its starting star pitcher plenty of early run support, scoring three times in the first inning on an RBI double from Rylan Bannon and a two-run single from Luke Ritter.

The Mets added on in the second via a solo homer from Carlos Cortes, a booming shot that sailed 400 feet over the right-field fence for a 4-0 lead.

That set the stage for Kodai Senga, who tossed two and two-thirds scoreless innings in a planned shorter rehab start. Senga allowed just two hits and struck three batters, all of which came swinging on his signature “ghost fork” breaking ball. However, Senga did walk the final two batters he faced and threw 30 strikes among the 52 total pitches that he threw. It was the second rehab start for Senga, who pitched for High-A Brooklyn last week.

From there, it became a battle of the bullpens with neither team scoring again until the top of the seventh inning. Josh Walker came onto the scene for the Mets hoping to keep his sterling season going. Walker entered Tuesday night’s game with an ERA well under 2.00 at the Triple-A level this season. However, it wouldn’t prove to be his night. Walker got just one out in the seventh, allowed four runs (all earned) on two hits for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (48-38, 5-7) with three walks and one strikeout. A pair of run-producing hits doomed Walker. First, a two-run double from Oscar Gonzalez slimmed the deficit to 4-2, and then a two-run single from Carlos Narváez later in the inning tied the game, 4-4.

In the bottom of the seventh, the Mets scrapped their way back in front. A leadoff bunt single from Yolmer Sánchez put a runner on base with nobody out, followed by a one-out double from Pablo Reyes that moved runners to second and third with one out. A…