Stat Line: 8 IP, 2 R, 7 H, 9 SO, 0 BB
Noah Syndergaard maneuvered two solo home runs leading the New York Mets into a first place tie in the National League East division standings.
Washington Nationals hitters were visibly off-balance leading to a swing and miss rate (whiff %) of 13.76%. The high miss rate is attributed to Syndergaard aggressively commanding fastballs and curveballs in the strike zone. Most impressive is the development and implementation of his changeup.
Usage of Changeup
In my mid-season report, I touched upon the fact that Syndergaard was one pitch away from becoming an ace. That pitch is his changeup. Not only is Syndergaard keeping the changeup low in the strike zone but showing confidence throwing it behind in the count.
Notably, Syndergaard used his changeup in pivotal pitches against the most likely MVP, Bryce Harper. Syndergaard threw a perfectly located changeup behind 2-1 in the count to against Harper on two occasions. In Harpers first inning at-bat, inducing a ground out to Daniel Murphy. In Harpers final at-bat, producing a foul ball to even the count 2-2 to set up the 100 mph fastball that ended with a swing and miss.
Additionally, Syndergaard threw a 2-0 changeup to Yunel Escobar induced a swing and miss in his third inning at-bat.
Flaw: Fastball Up In the Strike Zone
Syndergaard used adrenaline well, relying on his fastball to attack National’s hitters all night. One issue adrenaline leads to is over throwing or trying to throw the fastball too hard. Consequently, arm speed picks up and the baseball rushes out of the pitchers hand resulting in fastballs up in the strike zone.
Unfortunately, for this reason, Syndergaard found himself missing up in the strike zone leading to the two solo home runs and hard hit singles during the sixth inning.
Five poor pitches may seem harmless but Syndergaard must learn to hone his adrenaline as one run, one at-bat or even one pitch can define a playoff series.
Looking Forward
On Saturday, Syndergaard faces the Tampa Bay Rays. This is his second career start against an American League team having beat the Toronto Blue Jays on June 15th.
Stat of the Night
Syndergaard threw a first pitch strike to 70% of the National batters faced.
Follow Chris Zaccherio on Twitter @ziography for more Mets pitching insight that goes beyond statistics.
