Noah Syndergaard Strikes Out Nine, Mets Beat Marlins 5-2 In Series Finale: Highlights And More

Noah Syndergaard blistered his right middle finger after six innings of play in the New York Mets‘ 6-0 home rout against the Atlanta Braves on Opening Day last Monday, but on Sunday, he proved once again how much heat he can bring.

Noah Syndergaard Pitches Seven Strong Innings In Mets’ Win vs Marlins

The 24-year-old starting right-hander, nicknamed Thor, struck out nine batters in seven dominant innings to propel the Mets to a 5-2 home victory over Miami in the finale of a series the Marlins won 2-1.

“I feel good with my two-seamer, and with all my pitches right now,” Syndergaard said. “Slider, changeup, curveball, it doesn’t matter the count. I feel like I can throw them in any scenario.”

Syndergaard proudly wore the team’s crown after his big outing. The young starter only allowed two runs, one of them earned, after a Yoenis Cespedes fielding error in the second inning. Syndergaard also surrendered five hits with no walks. 

The Mets and Marlins are both 3-3 thus far this season. The Marlins have now completed their six-game road trip, which began in Washington, to start the season.

“Once you’ve won two, you’re not happy losing one,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. “You just want to get out of the blocks, first 10 games or two weeks and not be 1-12 or something like that. If you can be out and playing good baseball, hopefully we find rhythm and start winning two out of three all the time.”

On Friday, it was reported that Derek Jeter and Jeb Bush are among the celebrities interested in acquiring the Marlins.

Syndergaard was at his best in the second inning, when struck out three Marlins — Giancarlo Stanton, Justin Bour and Marcell Ozuna — on 13 pitches. The Mets pitcher retired five of the first six batters he faced, reaching as high as 101 mph with a fastball in the first inning.

Up until Sunday, the Mets’ performance seemed to be hampered by the cold weather. Except for their Opening Day game, which was in the early afternoon, the temperatures by the first pitch this week were, in order, 55 degrees, 44, 47, 55, and 52 on Sunday. It became colder after that, as the games went on.

“Every year coming from spring training, especially here in New York in April, you know it’s going to be a cold month,” said third baseman Jose Reyes, who has started the season 1 for 23. “You know it’s not comfortable. You’re cold on the field, but at the same time, it’s not an excuse for why you’re not doing your job.”

And Reyes is right. The Mets’ spring training ground is in Florida, therefore the team experiences a change of climate when the regular season begins.

Syndergaard said his finger blister may have originally flared up because of the cold weather but had not been a problem for a few days. The righty became the first Mets starter to pitch seven full innings this season.

New York took advantage of early mistakes from Miami to gain a 3-0 lead in the first inning. After the Marlins trimmed their deficit to one run, Jay Bruce and Michael Conforto each hit solo homers in the fifth and sixth respectively to give the Mets back their three-run lead.

The Marlins became momentarily worried in the eighth after shortstop Miguel Rojas injured his left shoulder while making a diving stop on Conforto’s grounder up the middle. Third baseman Derek Dietrich ended up covering second, and received the flip from Rojas for the third out.

The Mets hit the second-most home runs (218) in the National League last season, and also had the second-highest fly-ball rate (38.5 percent) in MLB.

Sunday’s game was played at night at Citi Field because ESPN had chosen it for its national broadcast.

The Mets next begin a three-game road series against Philadelphia on Monday night at 7:05 pm EST. Jacob deGrom, who tossed six shutout innings Wednesday against the Braves, will start opposite right-hander Jerad Eickhoff.

The Marlins, meanwhile, are off on Monday and next have their home opener on Tuesday night at 7:10 pm EST against the Braves.

Dan Straily (0-1, 13.50) will make his first home start as a Marlin. The right-hander was acquired in January from the Reds. Bartolo Colon will take the mound for Atlanta.

NEW YORK, NY – OCTOBER 05: Noah Syndergaard #34 of the New York Mets pitches in the second inning during their National League Wild Card game against the San Francisco Giants at Citi Field on October 5, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)