The New York Mets secured a series win over their 2024 NLCS foe Los Angeles Dodgers on May 25, winning 3-1 on the back of another great start by ace Kodai Senga. Things didn't start well for Senga out of the gate.

It’s “not fun,” Kodai Senga said, to pitch to Shohei Ohtani. Facing his superstar countryman in the first inning Sunday night at Citi Field, Senga turned to watch Ohtani deposit a 95 mph fastball into the second deck in right.

On a night when Tyrone Taylor helped by throwing Mookie Betts out at the plate on the fly in that first inning, and Juan Soto reached first base on a Betts error with hair-on-fire hustle preceding a Pete Alonso home run in that same first inning, Senga enjoyed the last laugh.

Kodai Senga had no desire to sugarcoat his experience against superstar Shohei Ohtani in the Mets' win over the Dodgers.

The Mets’ best hitter this month has been Brett Baty, who batted ninth again on Sunday night. Mendoza said that while moving Baty up to fifth or seventh is tempting, he likes keeping him ninth both to ensure continued comfort and to help put the pitcher under stress as the lineup turns over.

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Facing countryman Kodai Senga, Ohtani cranked the ball 108.2 mph to the second deck at Citi Field, with Statcast projecting the distance at 411 feet. It was Ohtani's 18th homer of the year, tying him with Aaron Judge and Kyle Schwarber for the MLB lead. It was also only the second homer Senga had allowed all season.

Learning how to incorporate all the information available to him in the U.S. has been critical to Senga’s success.

Senga (5-3) earned the win Sunday against the Dodgers, allowing one run on five hits and four walks over 5.1 innings. He struck out five. The New York right-hander toiled a bit against the vaunted Dodgers,