Just Mets

On Wednesday in Jupiter, Noah Syndergaard  faced nine batters, striking out five of them, while allowing only one hit in 2 2/3 innings of relief against the Marlins.

“Great stuff plays,” Terry Collins said about Syndergaard, according to Newsday’s David Lennon, “but when you locate, you can be special.”

Syndergaard was also pleased with his performance, noting he had good command of all of his pitches.

“My command was pretty spot-on, I thought,” Syndergaard said. “I felt really relaxed.”

Unlike his last start, Noah looked like a pitcher, rather than just a thrower. He was reportedly throwing gas from start to finish, sitting in the upper 90s with his fastball, but he was also effectively mixing in his off-speed and baffling the Miami hitters with a hard and heavy repertoire. In his last start, when runners reached base in his second inning of work, Noah became very one-dimensional with his fastball. Yesterday, he didn’t waver – he stuck to his game and flat out dominated the Marlins during this tune up.

He showed the Mets exactly what they needed to see from him during this outing. They’re looking for a certain pitching maturity from him on the mound, which includes not only an ability to adjust to adverse conditions, but to stick with his game plan and use his entire arsenal. This was a very positive and encouraging step towards accomplishing that, and a key to getting him to the big leagues sooner rather than later.

For more on Syndergaard’s outing, including quotes from Dan Warthen and the Marlins’ hitters, check out David Lennon’s report for Newsday.