Kodai Senga was not at his best but tossed six innings of two-run ball to earn the 12th win of his MLB rookie season as the New York Mets beat the Miami Marlins 8-3 Wednesday.
Senga (12-7) allowed seven hits with two walks as the right-hander let the Marlins reach in all six innings he pitched at loanDepot Park, but left the mound with a 4-2 lead.
Mark Vientos had a solo home run in the second inning and another in the sixth for the Mets, sandwiching a two-run third when the Marlins gave up one of the runs on two throwing errors.
Mets right fielder Jeff McNeil helped Senga with two fine pieces of defense in the fifth, first making an athletic gather and quick throw to help nab batter Jazz Chisholm Jr. at second before denying a run scored on a sacrifice fly with an accurate throw to the plate, closing the inning with a double play.
Senga yielded a run in the fourth with a sacrifice fly and another in the sixth when Josh Bell went deep.
"I wasn't really at a level I can be satisfied with," Senga said. "I was helped by our good defense. My task next year is to have fewer of these games."
After the game, the Mets traveled to Philadelphia, on their team's "rookie dress-up day," when rookies are obliged to go in costumes. In Senga's case, this meant dressing up as an astronaut.
"If everyone gets a laugh out of it, I'm 100 percent OK with it," Senga said.
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