Facing his former team the Toronto Blue Jays, rookie right-hander Noah Syndergaard fired an electric and dominating performance, holding them to just one earned run on two hits, while striking out a career-high 11 batters.
Thor became the sixth Met to record 11 strikeouts in one of his first seven career starts, and he is the fourth pitcher in franchise history to record a pair of double-digit strikeout games in first seven career starts and the first since Dwight Gooden had three such outings in 1984.
“It means a lot,” Mets manager Terry Collins said. “These guys are the hottest team in baseball, they’ve got a tremendous lineup, and after the first inning, he took control of it. I was very impressed with the way he went about it.” ( Kieran Darcy, ESPN NY)
As Syndergaard continues to shine, the blockbuster R.A Dickey trade appears increasingly more lopsided by the day. Syndergaard has now lowered his ERA to 3.76 while Dickey’s ERA stands at 5.29 for Toronto. The Mets also received starting catcher Travis d’Arnaud in the trade as well as Single-A prospect Wuilmer Becerra.
This has obviously been a tremendous haul for the Mets, and a decision Toronto certainly regrets, especially after just witnessing Syndergaard overpower their star-studded lineup. The Mets’ top prospect has lived up to the hype thus far, and he has already put himself in some pretty elite company.
Syndergaard’s 45 strikeouts are the fourth-most for a pitcher after seven career games in Mets history trailing only Dwight Gooden (51), Nolan Ryan (50) and Matt Harvey (49). He is also the 14th pitcher in the last century, the second since 2003, and the first in club history to strike out 11 and allow no more than two hits in one of his first seven career outings.
“That’s the best changeup I’ve seen him have — when you’re trying to hunt that fastball and he uses that changeup, that’s where all the strikeouts came from,” Collins said. “Very, very, very good outing after the first inning, just outstanding, and very happy for him because he needed one of those right now.”
“I felt I could throw anything — fastball, curveball, changeup — in any count tonight,” Syndergaard said after the game. “That’s ultimately the reason why I had so much success.”
Syndergaard’s excellent outing could also be viewed as a strong statement to the Mets’ front office. Prior to the game, Sandy Alderson said that putting Syndergaard in the bullpen is still a possibility this season.
“I think that remains something that could be considered in the future but right now he’s in the rotation.” (The Record)
However, Syndergaard showed the Mets last night that he clearly belongs in the rotation. It would simply be a ridiculous idea to take him out now given how well he has performed and even if he has more hiccups along the way.
