There is an old baseball adage which states momentum is tomorrow’s starting pitcher. That means after an absolutely brutal loss with Jeurys Familia melting down in the eighth inning and the team hopped on the train to go to Washington D.C. to play a day game after a night game, they had all the momentum in the world being Noah Syndergaard was toeing the rubber.
It was more than just Syndergaard on the mound. It was Rene Rivera behind the plate. Going back to 2016, Syndergaard was a different pitcher on the mound when Rivera was behind the dish. The two clicked at a certain level, and it propelled Syndergaard to reach a different level. That is exactly what would happen Monday.
After a Trea Turner leadoff single, Syndergaard would not allow another hit until there was one out in the sixth inning. He was dominant as we have seen him all season with him retiring 16 straight batters. He would strike out more than half of them with nine of his 10 strikeouts in that game coming over that stretch.
Syndergaard’s dominant pitching on the mound allowed the Mets to build a 7-0 lead. That’s what teams with all the momentum do. They go out there, and they beat the other team soundly.
This win was also symbolic of something else which has transpired with this Mets team. No matter what the odds or how bad things look, this team continues to play hard. It doesn’t matter how devastating the previous night’s loss was this team will pick themselves up off the mat. We not only saw their heart on Monday, but we would see it again on Wednesday too.
As noted by Tim Healey of Newsday, on September 5, 2019, the New York Mets were 4.5 games behind the Cubs just like they were on September 5, 1969. That 1969 team was led by dominant pitching performances from their entire rotation as they made a strong push to win the division and eventually the Wild Card. Seeing Syndergaard pitch is reminiscent of the type of run this Mets team needs to make which is one of the reasons why it was our Neon Moment of the Week!
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