By Mike Rifkin
Friday night, the vibes at Citi Field were immaculate. The Mets had a seven run third inning, looking for their second consecutive win over the division rival Atlanta Braves, and their fifth straight win overall. But the vibes changed in the sixth inning of that game and changed the series as a whole.
Mets ace Kodai Senga, was making his season debut and was cruising along. In the Sixth inning Senga got a pop up and when he ran off the mound he collapsed on the field holding his leg. The Mets announced Senga has a high strained calf and is done for the regular season, but might return for the playoffs if the Mets were to get there. Senga went 5 ⅓ innings giving up two runs on two hits, one walk and nine strikeouts. The Mets, who waited so long to get their ace back will have to presumably play the rest of the regular season without him. But Senga’s injury left a dark cloud over Citi Field the rest of the weekend.
The Braves outscored the Mets 15-2 after Senga’s injury, ensuing in a split of the four game series. Now the Mets will have to do something they’ve done all season, rise to the occasion, now with the trade deadline coming on Tuesday We’ll have to see what David Stearns does. But the Mets entered the series against the Braves 1 ½ games behind Atlanta, and that ‘s where they stand now, but now they understand that just like the Braves they aren’t getting their ace back. So can the Mets respond once again in a season filled with them.
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