Senga strikes out 8 in Major League debut

MIAMI — For a lengthy moment Sunday afternoon, Kodai Senga appeared vulnerable. He allowed a single to the first Marlins batter he faced, on the first ghost forkball he threw in the big leagues. He walked a pair and uncorked a wild pitch. Before Senga recorded an out, there were stirrings in the Mets’ bullpen.

Then Senga morphed into a different pitcher, retiring 15 of the final 17 batters he faced to depart his successful Major League debut with a lead.

Starting for the first time since signing a five-year, $75 million contract in December, Senga ran his fastball to 99 mph and generated whiffs on eight of the 12 ghost forks he threw. When he walked off the mound in the fifth inning, Senga enjoyed a standing ovation from a sizable contingent of Mets fans at loanDepot Park. At that point, the Mets held a 4-1 lead thanks to Tommy Pham’s two-run homer. Senga threw 5 1/3 innings, striking out eight.

This was one of the most anticipated debuts of an international-born player in Mets history, given the size of Senga’s contract and his history as a five-time Nippon Professional Baseball champion. Around a dozen Japanese journalists traveled to Miami to chronicle the event, while myriad fans watched in the early morning hours back home in Japan.