ATLANTA (AP) — After earning his first career save, New York Mets pitcher Kodai Senga wanted the ball as a keepsake.
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New York Mets pitcher Kodai Senga (34) delivers to an Atlanta Braves batter during the ninth inning of a baseball game, Monday, Aug. 10, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Erik S. Lesser)
New York Mets center fielder A.J. Ewing (9) is congratulated by right fielder Carson Benge (3) after Ewing caught a sharp fly ball from Atlanta Braves' Ronald Acuña Jr. to end the eighth inning of a baseball game, Monday, Aug. 10, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Erik S. Lesser)
New York Mets pitcher Kodai Senga (34) delivers to an Atlanta Braves batter during the ninth inning of a baseball game, Monday, Aug. 10, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Erik S. Lesser)
New York Mets pitcher Kodai Senga, left, reacts with catcher Francisco Alvarez, right, after closing out the Atlanta Braves during the ninth inning of a baseball game, Monday, Aug. 10, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Erik S. Lesser)
Rookie teammate Carson Benge had already tossed it into the Atlanta crowd.
Recently shifted to a short-relief role in his fourth major league season, Senga closed out New York's 8-5 victory over the Braves with a scoreless ninth inning Monday night. Mauricio Dubón flied out to Benge in right field for the final out, and he turned toward the stands looking to send a fan home with a souvenir.
Senga, well aware of his achievement, held out his arms in disbelief with his mouth agape while watching the whole thing transpire. In a funny scene, he raised both hands trying to grab Benge's attention as Senga and Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez both called for the baseball in vain.
A sheepish Benge, when he realized what happened, put both hands on his head — and Senga doubled over in laughter.
After the game, Senga was asked if Benge ever managed to retrieve the ball for him.
“I think Bengie is trying to tell me I should have just punched him out,” a smiling Senga said through an interpreter.
Senga got the save opportunity in the ninth because the Mets placed closer Devin Williams on the 15-day injured list earlier in the day. Interim manager Andy Green was non-committal before the game about who would be his closer, but with New York leading 8-5 he called on Senga. The right-hander is 0-8 with an 8.12 ERA in eight starts and eight relief appearances this season.
Senga struck out Matt Olson and Michael Harris II to open the ninth, then issued a walk to Ozzie Albies before retiring Dubón.
Senga has not allowed a run in his last three appearances out of the bullpen. He came over from Japan and signed a $75 million, five-year contract to be a starter for the Mets before the 2023 season. He went 12-7 with a 2.98 ERA in 29 starts that year, making the NL All-Star team and finishing runner-up in Rookie of the Year voting and seventh in Cy Young Award balloting.
But he's largely struggled with injuries and ineffectiveness since, other than a strong stretch early in the 2025 season.
The last-place Mets are 6-1 on a nine-game trip following a significant selloff ahead of last Monday's trade deadline that depleted their bullpen.
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New York Mets pitcher Kodai Senga (34) delivers to an Atlanta Braves batter during the ninth inning of a baseball game, Monday, Aug. 10, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Erik S. Lesser)
New York Mets center fielder A.J. Ewing (9) is congratulated by right fielder Carson Benge (3) after Ewing caught a sharp fly ball from Atlanta Braves' Ronald Acuña Jr. to end the eighth inning of a baseball game, Monday, Aug. 10, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Erik S. Lesser)
New York Mets pitcher Kodai Senga (34) delivers to an Atlanta Braves batter during the ninth inning of a baseball game, Monday, Aug. 10, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Erik S. Lesser)
New York Mets pitcher Kodai Senga, left, reacts with catcher Francisco Alvarez, right, after closing out the Atlanta Braves during the ninth inning of a baseball game, Monday, Aug. 10, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Erik S. Lesser)
DOTHAN, Ala. (AP) — Republicans aiming to flip Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District after redrawing the heavily Black district in their favor will pick their nominee Tuesday to challenge U.S. Rep. Shomari Figures, the Democratic incumbent who is seeking a second term despite the political headwinds.
The district is one of several Democratic-leaning districts across the South that were reshaped to favor Republicans following a U.S. Supreme Court decision that severely weakened the Voting Rights Act. The race could help determine the balance of power in the House as Republicans try to hold on to a slim majority in November's midterms. Both parties have put the district on their priority list.
“We need to win this seat back for the state and for the country. We need to turn it red again,” said state Rep. Rhett Marques, who was endorsed by President Donald Trump in the GOP primary.
Six Republicans are competing to challenge Figures, who is unopposed. Voters also will select nominees in three other Alabama districts affected by the Republicans' redraw.
Democrat Terri Sewell, Alabama's other Black representative, is unopposed and is expected to keep her 7th Congressional District seat in the fall.
Figures won the seat in 2024 after years of litigation under the Voting Rights Act. A federal court redrew the reliably red district after ruling that the GOP-controlled Legislature intentionally diluted the voting power of Black residents, who make up 27% of Alabama's population.
The court said there should be a second Alabama district where Black people are a majority or near-majority. Figures' election gave the state, for the first time in its history, two Black representatives. They're the only Democrats in Alabama's seven-member congressional delegation.
In April, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a majority-Black district in Louisiana as an unconstitutional gerrymander that relied too heavily on race. Alabama Republicans, like those in other Southern states, seized on the decision.
Seeking to implement a map previously drawn by the Legislature, lawmakers approved legislation to nullify the results of ongoing primaries and instead authorize Tuesday's special primary elections. The Supreme Court in June granted Alabama permission to switch maps.
During a recent forum in Dothan, in the far southeastern corner of the state, the GOP candidates answered questions about the Iran war, data centers and the district's needs. But much of the attention was on the general election.
“Shomari is going to have the money. He is going to have the opportunity to keep this district. If we get out to vote, we can win it, and we can take this seat back for the Republicans,” Marques said.
“It's important to get out there and make your voices heard and be represented up in D.C.,” said candidate Hampton Harris, a lawyer.
Christian Horn, a business owner and the lone Black in the race, said Republicans need a candidate who can compete across the district, not just in traditional GOP communities. David Matthews, a former Trump appointee in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Joshua McKee, a former U.S. Army Green Beret, and former Marine James Richardson are also running.
Tom Heisner, a 79-year-old retired air traffic controller who attended the forum, said the GOP is more aligned with his views on border control and other issues.
“I’m fairly confident it will go Republican around here,” he said of the Dothan region. “I’m not so sure up in Montgomery.”
When Figures won the district, it stretched from his hometown of Mobile across the state’s Black Belt region and to the Georgia border.
Now the district is nestled in the state’s southeastern corner. It includes Montgomery and Tuskegee, both Democratic strongholds steeped in civil rights history. It sweeps through rural areas known for peanut and soybean farming. There is a heavy military presence, with an Air Force base in Montgomery and an Army base in Dale County.
The district's Black voting age population dropped from 48% to 40% after it was redrawn.
Speaking at a community gathering at the Beulah Baptist Church, located not far from the path of the 1965 Selma-to-Montgomery voting rights march, Figures said Republicans won't succeed in making the district “unwinnable” for him.
“That’s in large part because I’ve had the privilege to represent over half of this new district already. We’ve shown up in the communities. We’ve shown them how we can deliver results,” Figures said.
Some Black Alabamians see echoes of the past in the redistricting process.
Maggie Walker, an 80-year-old retired educator from Montgomery, said she interpreted the Supreme Court’s redistricting decision as an effort to install “as many Republicans as possible” in the House. But she is optimistic Figures can win.
“I think he represents us and the things that are important to our state,” Walker said.
“We’re going backward with everything,” said Isaiah Sankey, vice chairman of the Montgomery County Commission. “But it’s OK — we are used to the struggle. It’s move forward, you get pushed back.”
U.S. Rep. Shomari Figures speaks at the Washington Brief series, hosted by the Montgomery Regional Chamber of Commerce, Wednesday, July 29, 2026, in Montgomery, Ala. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)
U.S. Rep. Shomari Figures speaks at the Washington Brief series, hosted by the Montgomery Regional Chamber of Commerce, Wednesday, July 29, 2026, in Montgomery, Ala. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)
U.S. Rep. Shomari Figures greets members of the public after speaking at the Washington Brief series, hosted by the Montgomery Regional Chamber of Commerce, Wednesday, July 29, 2026, in Montgomery, Ala. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)
