His first batter, the Phillies’ Kyle Schwarber, hammered his third pitch for a 425-foot home run into the second deck in rightfield. It was a total no-doubter, with rightfielder Starling Marte not moving an inch, his face staying focused on the infield, and Senga turning to look away from the action at the scoreboard in right.

The Kodai Senga experiment started terribly and ended up fine. Making his second start of 2024 and first start since July, last year’s Mets ace returned for an NLDS appearance in which he threw 31 pitches — and wanted one of those back.

Mets right-hander Kodai Senga lasted just two innings as he made his return to the mound for Game 1 of the National League Division Series against the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday afternoon.