PHILADELPHIA — A bunch of Phillies gathered Thursday night at Nick Castellanos’ house in South Jersey to watch some baseball. The cookouts were a regular thing during the season; Trea Turner and his wife even hosted a hibachi night. This was different.
“Probably the first time we’ve ever done one,” catcher J.T. Realmuto said, “and actually watched baseball.”
This is new territory for the Phillies, who were content to watch from afar as October chaos unfolded. They knew Thursday night, after Pete Alonso’s dramatic home run, that they’d meet the Mets in the National League Division Series. But they did not know who would pitch for New York in Game 1. As they filtered onto the field at Citizens Bank Park for one more workout, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza revealed his surprise.
It’ll be Kodai Senga, who has pitched once in the majors this season. He will step on the mound as a total unknown. “If they say ten pitches, I’m all-in for ten pitches,” Senga said through an interpreter. “If they say 200, I’m in for 200.” The Phillies could not have eyes on Senga over the past few weeks because he was pitching to Mets minor leaguers while concealed at the club’s Florida complex.
Senga told the Mets he wanted to pitch. He might last an inning. Maybe two. If he is pitching well, the Mets will be compelled to keep him in longer.
“We have a plan,” Mendoza said.
The Phillies are trying to decipher it. This NLDS will begin with some subterfuge; these two rivals are incapable of normal things. The game will start in the late afternoon; multiple players said they expect shadows to be a factor in addition to the muddled pitching plans. This much is evident: The Phillies have a massive advantage in this matchup with Zack Wheeler starting. The Mets, by turning to Senga, want to create disorder.
Their intent is clear: Senga is there to silence the top of the Phillies’ lineup. Kyle Schwarber, Trea Turner and Bryce Harper were 1-for-13 with six strikeouts and two walks against Senga last season when the Japanese import dazzled as a rookie.
Kodai Senga’s 8th and 9th Ks. pic.twitter.com/MEsnb6eG6u
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 31, 2023
“It’s just kind of the unknown,” Kyle Schwarber said. “How many pitches does he have?”
And: Who is coming in after him?
“I think that’s kind of the fun thing, though,” Schwarber said. “Right? We got to be able to do what we do.”
After a full batting practice on the field — which included a rare on-field hitting session for Bryce Harper — the Phillies held a lengthy hitters’ meeting. They have these meetings before every series. Armed with the knowledge that Senga would start, this was the first time they could discuss the different scenarios.
“You just played these guys two series in the last month,” Schwarber said. “You don’t see him. No one’s really seen him. You’ve got the video of a minor-league start, and things like that, but you don’t really know. You expect normalcy. That’s the biggest thing. And then you adjust from there. You expect that he’s going to be the guy that he was. If he’s proving you otherwise, you make an adjustment.”
The Phillies spent all Friday attempting to unravel New York’s plan. They do not want to be unprepared. The work included a meeting with two scouts who have been watching the Mets for a few weeks. There is so much familiarity, so the advance report focused on how Mendoza has used his team and the smallest weaknesses (or tells) that could be exposed.
What the Mets do after Senga is just as important. If it’s lefty David Peterson for a chunk of innings, that could nudge Rob Thomson toward a starting lineup with fewer lefty hitters. Peterson, a starter all season, closed Game 3 of the Wild Card Series against Milwaukee. It was his first relief appearance since July 2023.
Peterson has pitched with one or zero days’ rest only twice in his career. The Mets do not have a trusted lefty reliever. So, internally, the Phillies believe Peterson could transition into a full-time bullpen role for the NLDS. He has strong numbers in his career (1-for-16, 10 strikeouts) against Schwarber. But Bryce Harper has crushed him with eight hits in 19 at-bats.
This leads the Phillies to think Tylor Megill, who was considered for the Game 1 start, as a bulk reliever after Senga. The Phillies saw Megill in September. He was effective in four innings but needed 83 pitches.
Thomson would not tip his hand regarding lineup decisions. He’ll have more clear-cut ones to make in Games 3 and 4 when New York starts lefties. Without a traditional lefty reliever in the Mets’ bullpen, Thomson can effectively have two different lineups in the same game.
“It will play some into it,” Thomson said, “but it will be more about the starting pitcher to begin with and then we’ll adjust from there.”
If anything, the Senga decision speaks to New York’s uncertainty about its bullpen. José Buttó and Phil Maton, two trusted relievers, had late-inning meltdowns in Milwaukee. Edwin Díaz has thrown 105 pitches in the past week. Ryne Stanek and Reed Garrett have command problems but have become more important.
Senga had a strong chase rate last season. The Mets will test an aggressive Phillies lineup’s patience.
“I feel like he’s a guy that can be in the zone especially early, and that’s what kind of sets up all his other stuff,” Schwarber said. “That forkball, or whatever you want to call it, that thing’s got a ton of movement. It’s a tough pitch. You don’t see that that often. You have to really bear down on where we want the ball.”
Schwarber was pleased with the team’s work during the bye week. The hitters took their at-bats like real ones, he said. He noticed players who typically do not do velocity machine work were in the cage against it this week.
It’s almost here.
“I can’t wait,” Schwarber said, “to wake up.”
(Photo of Bryce Harper: Chris Szagola / Associated Press)
