Matt Harvey was the aforementioned Mets ace since debuting in 2012 and bursting out the following season which included starting the All Star Game for the NL team at Citi Field.
But as good as Jacob deGrom has been so far in his brief major league career, in an ideal world, Mets manager Terry Collins told ESPN New York he would’ve preferred having Harvey start Game 1 of the NLDS instead.
“We would have liked to have pitched him Game 1, except we are limited to the amount of games he can pitch – not necessarily how much in those games,” Collins said.
Because of Harvey’s innings limit cap following Tommy John surgery in 2013, he’s only going to pitch once in the NLDS. So the Mets decided to put him for Game 3 at Citi Field.
What also factored in this Mets decision, was Noah Syndergaard‘s late-season success on the road.
Overall this season, Syndergaard had a 2.46 ERA at Citi Field and a 4.23 ERA on the road. But in his final three road starts, Syndergaard went 2-0 with a 2.29 ERA (5 earned runs in 19 2/3 innings). He also pitched well in one start at Dodger Stadium (vs Clayton Kershaw) on July 3, giving up only one run on two hits in six innings.
So as a result, Syndergaard will get the Game 2 start on the road.
“The way he’s pitched lately, they’re passed for me,” Collins said about any concerns for Syndergaard’s road performance. “He has gone out and, as we saw, just pounded the strike zone with quality stuff. You talk about who the rest has helped maybe the most, I think it may be him. His stuff has been electric since we pushed him back.”
Syndergaard expressed confidence as well and welcomes the challenge and the faith his manager has in him.
“I feel like on the last couple starts I had on the road I had a lot of success, lot of comfort. The big thing, for me, was being able to execute my pitches and become more of a pitcher, not a thrower. And I feel like that’s going to play a huge role tomorrow night.”
Look for Thor to come out guns blazing against a team he beat handily already this season. And with the added momentum the Mets built up last night, maybe Joe D. is right and the Mets will end up sweeping the Dodgers in the NLDS. Let’s Go Mets!
