The New York Mets had extra rest going into the NLCS against the Los Angeles Dodgers. So why didn't manager Carlos Mendoza make the most of it?
Mendoza opted not started one of his fully rested starters and instead put Kodai Senga on the bump. And that backfired big time as the Mets fell behind 3-0 early.
Facing one of the best hitting lineups in baseball, Mendoza turned to a pitcher who had thrown just two innings since the end of July because of an injury. Game 1 of the NLCS wasn't the time to test his arm.
Carlos Mendoza, Kodai Senga got the Mets off on the wrong foot in the NLCS
At the start of the season, no Mets fan would have questioned the decision to use Senga. Except, Mets fans also wouldn't have expected Senga to spend most of the campaign on IR. The pitcher made his first appearance since July in the NLDS against the Phillies.
Senga got lead off hitter Shohei Ohtani out but it was all downhill from there. He walked Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Teoscar Hernández to load the bases. He also threw a wild pitch to advance a runner. In the end, he was lucky to escape with just two runs conceded.
When he came back out for the bottom of the second inning, things weren't better. He walked Gavin Lux and let Ohtani put a run on the board with a single.
Mendoza could have handed the Game 1 start to Sean Manaea. He went five innings in the Wild Card round, giving up two earned runs. He went seven innings in Game 3 of the NLDs, allowing just three hits and one run. And since the Mets wrapped up that series early, he got a full week of rest.
Luis Severino was in a similar boat. He gave the Mets six innings in each of his two playoff appearances, giving up three earned runs in each. He was on even more rest than Manaea.
Eventually, the Mets were going to need to trust Senga, but they didn't need to rush into that decision. By doing so, Mendoza spotted the Dodgers three runs and had to dip into his bullpen far earlier than anyone would have wanted.