Mets to start Kodai Senga in Game 1 of NLDS vs. Phillies - ESPN

PHILADELPHIA — New York Mets right-hander Kodai Senga will start Game 1 of the National League Division Series on Saturday against the Philadelphia Phillies after missing the past two months with a calf injury.

Senga, who is 31 and was the Mets' best pitcher last season, hasn't thrown since July 29, when he left his only outing of the season with a calf strain after 5⅓ innings. Shoulder and triceps injuries had sidelined Senga for the season's first four months.

Senga and Mets manager Carlos Mendoza were coy when asked how deep into the game Senga could pitch. Senga said Mendoza and Mets pitching coach Jeremy Hefner would decide.

«I'm ready for whatever,» Senga said. «If they say 10 pitches, I'm all-in for 10 pitches. If they say 200, I'm in for 200.»

Senga's return is a welcome sight for the Mets after a run to the division series that depleted their pitching. New York played a doubleheader Monday — clinching a playoff spot in the first game — and followed with games the next three days in Milwaukee. The final one, a dramatic 4-2 come-from-behind win punctuated with Pete Alonso's three-run ninth-inning home run, continued a magical run from a team that in early June was 24-35.

Senga had hoped to return toward the end of the regular season but was shut down after triceps tightness ended his Sept. 22 minor league rehabilitation start. He continued working at the Mets' Florida complex and said he was told Wednesday that if the Mets beat the Brewers and he was healthy, he would start Game 1.

«We've been through it a whole year with him,» Mendoza said. «And the times that he goes out there and faces hitters or throws a lot of bullpens and he's not feeling right, he's always letting us know that. And that wasn't the case in