Kodai Senga News: Makes case to return to majors

Senga struck out eight batters and allowed one earned run on three hits and no walks over six innings in a start for Triple-A Syracuse on Friday.

The 32-year-old right-hander signed off on being optioned to the minors last week to try and get right after stumbling to a 6.56 ERA, 1.71 WHIP and 35:22 over his last eight starts and 35.2 innings for the Mets. Senga's first turn in the Syracuse rotation provided a great deal of hope that he might still be able to boost New York's fading playoff hopes, as he fired 52 of 74 pitches for strikes in an efficient performance. Per Jared Greenspan of MLB.com, the Mets' original plan was to have Senga make two starts at Triple-A to get used to some mechanical tweaks before a return to the majors was considered, but with Jonah Tong having been pummeled by the Rangers on Friday and the Mets' lead over the Giants for the final wild-card spot in the National League having slipped to half a game, the organization may not be able to afford that kind of patience. Absent the Mets moving a player to the injured list to create a spot on the 28-man active roster for him, however, Senga isn't eligible to return to the Mets until Sept. 20.