Kodai Senga pounded again, Juan Soto exits with back injury as spiraling Mets fall to Cubs

The nightmare Mets season somehow got worse Tuesday night, and not just because they lost another game at Citi Field or got another bad start from Kodai Senga.Juan Soto left their 9-6 loss to the Cubs before the top of the fifth with what the team called left-side back tightness.Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Mike Puma about the inside buzz on the Mets.

Soto was removed from the game — their third straight defeat — in Queens, as Francisco Lindor was playing perhaps his final minor league rehab game with Triple-A Syracuse, having been sidelined since April with a strained left calf.Now, having them both in the lineup together again may be in jeopardy.Jared Young moved from first base to take Soto’s spot in left, while Mark Vientos entered at first base.Soto flied out in both of his at-bats before leaving the game.By then, the Mets already trailed by five runs, thanks to another clunker from Kodai Senga, who gave up seven runs in just 3 ²/₃ innings.With the rotation a mess and the Mets so far unable to fix it, they can hardly afford another blow to the lineup, especially involving Soto.While the rest of the team has fallen apart, Soto recovered from the calf injury well enough to enter Tuesday leading the team in most offensive categories, with a .974 OPS — second only to the Dodgers’ Shohei in the National League.He’s been extremely durable throughout much of his career and missed just five games over the previous three seasons.Now, the Mets are facing more time without Soto — and perhaps with Senga, despite his continued issues on the mound.If you’re looking for the embodiment of this Mets team, Senga just might be it.He’s highly paid, injury-prone and severely underperforming.On Tuesday, after David Stearns said the rotation would be evaluated “turn by turn,” Senga gave the Mets another reason to start anyone else.He allowed seven runs, all earned, continuing a seemingly never-...