I’m one of the people that believes that the All-Star can throw you off a little if you’re a pitcher…and I’d like to believe that’s what happened to Noah Syndergaard when he pitched for Binghamton today. He didn’t look like himself and was plagued with command issues, but he still got through five innings while allowing just three earned runs — and he did strike out five as well.
His final line was 5.0 IP, 7 H, 2 HR, 3 BB, 3 ER, 5 K, with a 55:43 strike-to-ball ratio. Syndergaard always seems to strike out a handful even on days when he isn’t completely on his game, which is testament to how good his stuff is naturally. Both of the home runs he gave up were solo shots, which weren’t that bad in the grand scheme, although the second one was an absolute bomb to center field.
He was dancing in and out of trouble today, and there are positives to be taken from that too — considering he kept his composure throughout those situations. He gave up a home run to Ryan Lollis to lead-off the ballgame and allowed a two-out RBI single in the second for his second earned run on the day.
Of course, the incredible moment of the day was the triple play — yes, a triple play. In the third inning, Richmond had first and second with none out, and Mark Mincozzi lined into a triple play, which may have saved him from a worse start.
It could get a lot worse than this outing for Syndergaard, and with regular scheduling, he should be fine in his next start.
(Photo Credit: Gordon Donovan (Header) and Kelly Madden (Display Picture for Post))
This is the kind of game I like to hear about. “Dancing in and out of trouble” and giving up 2 home runs only to allow 3 ER total shows exactly what you were talking about, keeping composure. In my opinion that is what you want to see out of a professional pitcher. I was all for trading him for a bat in the beginning of the season, but I have been convinced otherwise that the Mets need to hang on to him. Maybe I’m getting a little overly excited about him because you never know what the future holds, but that’s exactly why you can’t have too much pitching.