The return of Noah Syndergaard this season seemed improbable at times. Even if it was possible, it didn’t seem plausible.

The Mets have been out of contention for some time now and rushing the ace back didn’t seem necessary. However, the fireballer was persistent and fought his way back, pitching Saturday in his first game since April 30.

“I felt really good out there. I put in a lot of work in the last four or five months to get back out there. I hoped it would be under different circumstances, but it will be good to hopefully finish the season on a high note,” Syndergaard said. “I felt like I needed it just because I put in so much work the past five months, I felt I needed to get something out of it or else what was I really doing? We could have just shut it down.”

The 25-year-old took the mound in the first inning and needed just five pitches to retire the side.

Trea Turner hit a laser to right that was snagged by Norichika Aoki, which was followed up by a clean liner into central for Jayson Werth.

Former Met Daniel Murphy then dug into the dish and slapped a ball to second, which the Mets rolled into a tailor made double play.

The right-hander threw four fastballs and topped out at 99 mph after starting the game off with a slider for a ball.

“The feedback I got from [catcher Kevin] Plawecki was that even though I gave up some hard-hit balls, it was definitely where I wanted it and had good movement,” Syndergaard said.

Syndergaard was seen in the dugout after his performance talking to manager Terry Collins and pitching coach Dan Warthen, presumably trying to pitch a second frame, but with Matt Harvey warming up the pitcher had to make way.

With the season dwindling down, the former all-star will ultimately get one more start, most likely next weekend in Philadelphia.

The aforementioned Harvey came on in relief of Syndergaard staked to a 3-0 lead, but the right-hander gave it all back.

His fastball hit 95 mph during his 80-pitch outing, but again, Harvey was plagued by the long ball. He gave up a two-run blast to Adam Lind in the fourth and a solo shot to Matt Wieters the following inning.

“There’s still a lot of work to be done,” Harvey said. “I’m not happy about the two home runs. I threw a lot of balls I felt better throwing: a couple good sliders, a couple good fastballs. I think everything is coming. The frustration took over. I wish it had come right away. But obviously it hasn’t, and it hasn’t all year.”

Harvey dropped in a few sliders that were reminiscent of his former self, but he failed to throw it with any consistency; something that will only come with time.

“Having the success that I did before the injuries and wanting to do everything I can to be as dominant as I’d been in the past, it’s frustrating to go out there and struggle and not figure out why you are struggling,” Harvey said. “To put the work in between starts and feel good about it and then not have success, it’s been hard.”

What’s important for Harvey is to take baby steps and strive for small victories. Everything isn’t going to come together at once, he needs to piece it together like a puzzle.

Going into his contract year, there’s no doubt he will be working rigorously this offseason to get back to peak form.

The 28-year-old will likely receive at least one more start this season as another stepping stone for 2018.