Yet again, it is Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Met.<\/p>\n
The club that threatened to make a run for the division crown while looking dominant in a sweep of the first-place Phillies last week responded by dropping the weekend series to a noncontender with a roster that collectively is paid less than Juan Soto this season.<\/p>\n
The same offense that set a franchise record with 19 runs in a home game Friday scored once Sunday.<\/p>\n
Kodai Senga, untouchable while striking out the side in the second inning, was booed after allowing a fourth run in the fourth and is not guaranteed another start.<\/p>\n
Kodai Senga reacts during the Mets-Marlins game on Aug. 31, 2025. Robert Sabo for NY Post<\/p>\n
The club\u2019s inconsistencies were highlighted with one more dud, this time a 5-1 letdown in front of a sold-out Citi Field crowd of 43,302 unhappy fans who watched the mediocre Marlins take three of four.<\/p>\n
During a month in which the Mets set a new franchise homer mark and averaged the most runs per game in the majors, they outscored their opponents by 21 and somehow finished 11-17.<\/p>\n
Through five months of sometimes brilliant, sometimes abysmal and always inconsistent play, the Mets (73-64) have enticed and enraged their way to four games clear of the Reds for the third and final NL wild-card spot entering September.<\/p>\n
Kodai Senga pitches during the Mets-Marlins game on Aug. 31, 2025. Robert Sabo for NY Post<\/p>\n
\u201cWe just didn\u2019t play well,\u201d manager Carlos Mendoza said after the Mets dropped a home series to the Marlins for the first time since August of 2020. \u201cWe didn\u2019t pitch well, and we didn\u2019t make plays behind our [pitchers].\u201d<\/p>\n
One poster boy for the volatility took the mound Sunday, Senga striking out six but allowing five runs on seven hits and two walks in 4 \u00b2\/\u2083 innings.<\/p>\n
Through 13 starts, the one-time ace had a 1.47 ERA and seemed destined for the All-Star Game. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Through nine starts on the other side of a hamstring strain that sent him to the IL, Senga has a 5.91 ERA.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve been trying to fix him for quite a bit now,\u201d Mendoza said of Senga, who is a part of what is now a six-man rotation. Mendoza said the club would have \u201csome discussions what\u2019s next for him,\u201d declining to guarantee another turn to a pitcher as two-faced as any.<\/p>\n
During an overpowering 14-pitch second inning, Senga lived in the strike zone except when he used his ghost forkball to induce chases and struck out Heriberto Hern\u00e1ndez, Troy Johnston and Joey Wiemer in succession.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cHe looks like a completely different pitcher\u201d in that inning, Mendoza said, and Senga then served up a two-run homer to Agust\u00edn Ram\u00edrez on a sweeper left down the middle in the third.<\/p>\n
As has been the case for nine consecutive starts, Senga could not finish the sixth inning and this time could not complete the fifth, either, pulled amid a rough frame for the Mets that was the afternoon\u2019s low point.<\/p>\n
The final run charged to Senga was not his fault: With a runner on second, Xavier Edwards laid a bunt down the third base line that prompted both corner infielders to charge. <\/p>\n
Agustin Ramirez celebrates after hitting a home run during the Marlins-Mets game on Aug. 31, 2025. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n
Brett Baty fielded and threw a strike to no one at first, Pete Alonso having hoped for a bunt toward first base and Jeff McNeil not covering in time. <\/p>\n
The ball sailed into foul territory and allowed the fifth Marlins run to score.<\/p>\n
Senga said he physically is OK but referred to mechanics and a pitch mix that needs work. <\/p>\n
Asked whether it is selection or stuff that is plaguing him, Senga said it is a \u201cmix of everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
Benches cleared during the Mets-Marlins game on Aug. 31, 2025. Robert Sabo for NY Post<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s definitely some frustration,\u201d Senga said through interpreter Hiro Fujiwara. \u201cI\u2019ve never experienced something like this for this extended period of time. There\u2019s some confusion why I am not able to perform.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Mets lineup only showed some literal fight in the seventh, when Sandy Alcantara grazed Mark Vientos\u2019 leg with a 90.4 mph changeup, and the two locked eyes and exchanged words before the benches and dugouts emptied.<\/p>\n
If the Mets were inspired, they did not show it on a day they finished 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position and were overwhelmed by Alcantara, who looked like an ace worth trading for during his seven strong, one-run innings.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDelivering insights on all things Amazin\u2019s\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSign up for Inside the Mets by Mike Puma, exclusively on Sports+\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\tThank you\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Next up for a team that careens between extremes: a 10-game road trip through playoff-contending cities in Detroit, Cincinnati and Philadelphia.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot really concerned at all,\u201d Vientos said of the team\u2019s overall inconsistency. \u201cWe push this one past us and look forward and we take care of business on the road trip.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Yet again, it is Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Met. The club that threatened to make a run for…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":190307,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5122],"tags":[5229,27641,1286,1266,405,403,1305,5226,5225,5228,5227,62,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-190306","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-kodai-senga","10":"tag-miami-marlins","11":"tag-mlb","12":"tag-new-york","13":"tag-new-york-city","14":"tag-new-york-mets","15":"tag-newyork","16":"tag-newyorkcity","17":"tag-ny","18":"tag-nyc","19":"tag-sports","20":"tag-united-states","21":"tag-united-states-of-america","22":"tag-unitedstates","23":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","24":"tag-us","25":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115126099278565261","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/190306","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=190306"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/190306\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/190307"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=190306"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=190306"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=190306"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}