The Mets (45-42) defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks (42-43) tonight at Citi Field by a score of 4-1.
The big story for the Mets tonight was Noah Syndergaard. The big right-hander pitched eight shutdown innings for the Mets, and gave the team a much needed boost in the wake of the unfortunate injury to Steven Matz.
Over the span of the eight frames, Syndergaard struck out a season high thirteen batters for a Mets pitcher. He allowed just one run in the first inning, which came after A.J. Pollock doubled and stole third base, and scored on a sacrifice fly from Paul Goldschmidt.
Syndergaard improves to 4-4 on the season, and lowered his ERA to 3.11 after his impressive outing tonight.
After the Diamondbacks took the lead in the first inning, the Mets answered right back, as Lucas Duda hit a three-run shot to dead central for his eleventh home run of the year, and his first in seventy-five plate appearances.
Michael Cuddyer went back-to-back with Duda, as he hit his seventh home run of the season to give the Mets a four spot in the first inning.
The game would stay put at 4-1 for the remainder of the game, as Jeurys Familia came on to relieve Noah Syndergaard in the ninth, and earned his 25th save of the year, despite allowing the Diamondbacks to tack on a run.
The Mets improve to 30-14 at home this season, which is second best only to the Cardinals in baseball.
Thoughts:
What a dominant performance from Noah Syndergaard tonight. The flamethrower was in complete control of the opposition, who coming into the night were the best offensive team in baseball.
The young righty surely showed he belongs in the big leagues. His bulldog mentality on the mound, ice cold demeanor and the nickname “Thor” should strike fear into any opponent. After he got his lead in the first inning, he was locked in and made the Diamondbacks look foolish at the plate.
Yes, seeing home runs hit is exciting, but to me, there is nothing better than seeing a guy make it look easy on the mound. With that being said, tonight’s game ball goes to Noah, a no-brainer.
On Deck:
The Mets look for the series win tomorrow night with Matt Harvey (7-6, 3.11 ERA) taking on Patrick Corbin (1-0, 3.60 ERA). First pitch is at 4:10 PM.
