Noah Syndergaard started his rehab assignment on Tuesday with the Brooklyn Cyclones as he faced off against the Aberdeen IronBirds.
Syndergaard, 26, is trying to return from a hamstring strain that forced him to miss each of his last two turns in the rotation, with Walker Lockett filling in for the right-hander both times.
The first two innings went very smoothly for Syndergaard as the only baserunner to reach base in that span did so by way of a strikeout (Jean Carmona) because Ariel Yera had his first of two passed balls that night.
However, he ran into a little trouble in the third inning. Syndergaard allowed back-to-back singles to Luke Ringhofer and Toby Welk. Welk later advanced to second on a stolen base which took away the double play chance. Clay Fisher capitalized on that as he grounded out to shortstop to drive in a run after Syndergaard struck out Johnny Rizer.
Syndergaard would strike out four of the next five batters, while allowing another single and stolen base in the fourth inning to Andrew Fregia.
Rizer would manage to record the first extra-base hit of the game for the IronPigs in the fifth, though, as he hit a home run to right field with a runner on first base.
Overall, Syndergaard pitched five innings (67 pitches, 56 strikes) while allowing three runs, five hits, and no walks to go along with nine strikeouts. He also allowed two stolen bases while on the mound.
It remains to be seen whether or not Syndergaard will make another rehab start or if his next appearance will be with the New York Mets.
So far in 2019, Syndergaard is 5-4 with a 4.55 ERA, 1.211 WHIP, 3.62 FIP, and 93 strikeouts in 15 major league starts (95 innings).
Gavin Cecchini also made his second rehab appearance for the Cyclones in this game, playing third base. He went 1-for-4 with one RBI and two strikeouts on the night.
