Kodai Senga kept the ball in the strike zone and kept it away from Phillies bats.
And on the rare occasion when the Mets’ starter actually allowed contact, Brandon Nimmo kept the ball in the park.
Senga threw seven scoreless, walk-less, one-hit innings and received a big assist from Nimmo, who brought back a would-be home run.
The two, with help from a strong back end of the bullpen, conspired to shut down the Phillies in a 2-0 win at Citi Field in front of 36,236 on Tuesday night.
The Mets (28-27) snapped a two-game losing streak and opened a six-game homestand with a victory in which a Francisco Lindor homer and an Eduardo Escobar RBI single were the only offense they needed.
The offense could mostly rest because Senga was excellent in his longest start since coming to MLB, pitching up to his $75 million contract against an NL East rival.
Kodai Senga celebrates after striking out Kyle Schwarber to end the seventh inning during the Mets’ 2-0 win over the Phillies. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
The righty, who had not made it past the sixth inning previously, did not walk a batter for the first time and struck out nine over seven nearly perfect frames.
He could reach back for a 98.5 mph fastball or baffle hitters with a ghost forkball that looked like the fastball — until it disappeared into the dirt.
“It was fun watching him execute, keep hitters guessing,” said Lindor, whose fourth-inning home run was his fourth in eight games. “[Hitters were] trying to figure out whether he was going to throw inside or whether he was going to throw away or whether he was going to bounce the split-finger, the fork, the ghost. I don’t even know what to call it.”
Whatever it was, it was deadly. Senga got better as the game got longer and struck out six in his final three innings, relying on that ghost forkball: Philadelphia batters swung 18 times at the offering and missed 12.
Senga threw cutters and sliders, too, but the combination of his fastball and forkball was potent.
“The velocity, you’ve got to hurry on it,” manager Buck Showalter said of the fastball, which often set up the forkball. “You can’t cover both pitches when you have to honor both of them.”
Kody Clemens singled into left field with one out in the third inning, and Senga proceeded to retire the next 14 batters he saw. The 30-year-old became the 10th rookie in franchise history (and first since Steven Matz in 2016) to throw seven or more innings and allow one or zero hits.
Senga has been nearly untouchable at home, where he sports a 1.20 ERA in five starts. That number rises to 6.12 in five road starts.
Brandon Nimmo robs Nick Castellanos of a home run during the fourth inning of the Mets’ victory. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post“I think part of the reason is the long travel that we have to go through, and that’s something that’s an adjustment that I need to make,” Senga, in his first year in the majors after 11 seasons in Japan’s NPB, said through an interpreter. “And also pitching at home, we have a lot of great fans. I don’t want to disappoint them.”
Tuesday, Senga’s lone mistake was hammered an estimated 388 feet — but, significantly, not 389.
In the fourth inning of a scoreless game, Nick Castellanos blasted a down-the-middle cutter to left-center field, where Nimmo had a bead on it. He timed his leap and speared the ball just before it cleared the fence and landed with both a catch and a smile.
A pumped-up Nimmo pumped his fist, shouted with joy and fired the ball back in, as Senga lifted his arms in appreciation.
Francisco Lindor celebrates as he rounds the bases after belting a solo home run in the fourth inning of the Mets’ victory. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Po“Everything has to work out perfectly and that timing has to be just right,” said Nimmo, who added the play was “pretty awesome” but not as difficult as his robbery of the Dodgers’ Justin Turner last August.
The Mets seized momentum and a lead just two pitches into the bottom of the inning, when Lindor smacked a home run off lefty Ranger Suarez. Sending it 403 feet to left ensured no outfielder could bring it back.
The Mets added on in the seventh, when Eduardo Escobar — whom Showalter allowed to bat over Brett Baty despite the Phillies turning to righty Connor Brogdon — came through with a two-out single to drive in Starling Marte.
Adam Ottavino and David Robertson (nine saves) preserved a two-hitter that had as much to do with the Mets’ defense as their pitching.
“He was unbelievable,” Nimmo said of Senga. “And he likes pitching at Citi, so I like that.”
