Kodai Senga exits early with hamstring strain, Mets manager says Pete Alonso not responsible

Just as the New York Mets were beginning to build momentum, Kodai Senga’s health has become a troubling issue once again. The Japanese pitcher, who’s been battling physical setbacks for over a year, suffered yet another injury on Thursday — this time a right hamstring strain during a 4–3 win over the Washington Nationals.

Kodai Senga’s hot 2025 campaign derailed by injury

The injury unfolded in the sixth inning, when CJ Abrams hit a ground ball to the right side. Pete Alonso fielded it and tossed a high flip to first, forcing Senga to leap while sprinting to the bag. As Senga came down awkwardly, he immediately clutched his hamstring and collapsed to the turf. It was a gut-wrenching moment, echoing the calf strain that sidelined him last July.

After the incident, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza confirmed that Senga would be placed on the 15-day injured list.

“It’s hard for me to speculate, but obviously we know he’s going to be down,” Mendoza said. “As soon as he goes down like that, he grabs the hamstring -- we saw it last year, unfortunately. But we’ve got to wait till tomorrow and see what we’re dealing with here.”Despite initial speculation, Mendoza was quick to shut down any notion that Pete Alonso’s errant throw caused the injury. Alonso, who’s struggled at times with similar throws this season, became the subject of fan frustration following the play.

But Mendoza revealed that Senga had actually informed him — via his translator — that he felt something in his hamstring even before leaping to make the catch.

Still, Alonso was visibly shaken by the incident. “I still feel awful, because for me, I’m just trying to make a baseball play, just trying to make a play for my pitcher,” Alonso said. “I tried to make the best throw that I could, and it just sucks. It sucks to be involved in that.

Senga, he’s one of our guys here. … Things happen during the season, but I wish it wouldn’t have turned out like that.”This injury continues a frustrating trend for Senga, whose 2025 season had only recently started gaining traction after shoulder troubles sidelined him during Spring Training. With an MRI scheduled, the Mets now wait anxiously to determine the severity — and how long they’ll be without one of their most promising arms.Also Read: Nationals' bat-retrieving dog Bruce gets major league call-up and fans can't wait for his MLB debut