Noah Syndergaard followed the best performance of his career with the biggest win in Citi Field history.
Following an incredible eight-inning outing in which he approached perfection, Syndergaard again showcased a remarkable mix of power and poise, leading the Mets to a 5-2 win over the Nationals on Sunday night at Citi Field to complete a three-game sweep and put the teams into a virtual first-place tie in the NL East.
Taking the baton after the performances of Matt Harvey and Jacob deGrom, the 22-year-old showed why he soon may be in the running for the team’s top billing, winning his second straight start after allowing two runs in eight innings, striking out nine and walking none.
Syndergaard (6-5), who is 4-1 with a 1.80 ERA since June 15, has pitched at least eight innings in four straight home starts, becoming the first Met to do so in 19 years (Mark Clark), while joining Dwight Gooden and Pedro Martinez as the only Mets to throw eight innings while striking out nine and walking none in consecutive starts.
With each start, it becomes more amazing Syndergaard didn’t make his major league debut until May.
“We’ve talked his last four or five starts how fast he’s matured,” Terry Collins said. “You don’t see that very often. He came up here with the big tag and the big arm and probably not as much credit for how to pitch. Everybody saw the power arm, just throwing it by guys. This guy knows what he’s doing out there. He’s got a feel for it.”
After taking a perfect game into the seventh inning in his previous outing, Syndergaard surrendered a solo homer to Anthony Rendon in the first inning Sunday, but from there, the Rookie of the Year candidate obliterated everyone in his way, overwhelming Washington with his cartoonish fastball while retiring 13 straight batters.
Leading 5-1 in the sixth inning, Syndergaard allowed a solo homer to Yunel Escobar, with Rendon and Bryce Harper following with back-to-back singles. Facing potential problems against the middle of the order, Syndergaard quickly quelled the familiar panic, inducing a Ryan Zimmerman fly out and a ground ball from Jayson Werth to end the inning.
“His confidence is huge,” Collins said. “If he makes a mistake, he doesn’t get upset. He just goes about his business.”
Until the end, Syndergaard was superb, blowing away Harper with one last fastball to finish the eighth inning.
The weekend was everything the Mets hoped it could be and somehow better than they ever imagined.
“It’s just a lot of fun to play out there,” Syndergaard said. “Pitching in that crowd out there is unbelievable. I can only imagine when October’s going around.”
It’s getting a lot easier to imagine.
