Kodai Senga 2026 — Today's Stats & Game Log

Three walks and shaky four-seam command sink Senga in 2.2 frames

Senga lasted just 2.2 innings against Colorado, allowing three earned runs on three hits with three walks against only one strikeout. His game ERA of 12.27 pushed his season line to a 9.00 ERA, 1.95 WHIP, and an 0-4 record across five starts. Combined with his previous two outings (2.1 IP, 7 ER vs OAK and 3.1 IP, 6 ER at CHC), this marks three consecutive non-quality starts, a sharp regression from his early-April form when he posted 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 9 K at STL and 5.2 IP, 7 K at SF.

The pitch mix tells the story. Senga leaned on his four-seamer for 30 of 50 pitches (60%) at an average of 95.1 mph, but its strike rate was just 53%, which directly explains the three free passes. His signature forkball was actually working well in terms of zone efficiency, with a 69% strike rate on 13 offerings, yet it generated only one whiff and never functioned as a true putaway pitch on the day. The cutter saw just six uses and the sweeper a single token offering, leaving the Rockies hitters able to sit on the heater. Compounding the issue, his platoon split is severe this season: right-handed batters are slashing for an .830 OPS against him, but lefties are hammering him to the tune of a .366 average and a 1.079 OPS with three home runs in 41 at-bats. When he cannot elevate the four-seam for chase swings, that platoon gap shows up immediately on the scoreboard.

Unico's takeaway: with a K/BB ratio in the low ones and a four-seam strike rate hovering near 50%, Senga's first priority must be restoring fastball command back into the 60% strike-rate range. Until the heater plays as a credible setup pitch, the forkball cannot finish hitters and the platoon disadvantage versus lefties will continue to compound the damage.