Cool, calm and collected.
It’s the demeanor Noah Syndergaard took to the mound Sunday afternoon amid all the doubts, questions and concerns about a bone spur located in his right elbow — and he delivered the type of performance the Mets will need if they want to repeat as NL champions.
Syndergaard showed no ill effects from his worrisome elbow while dominating and befuddling Cubs batters with an assortment of laser-guided fastballs, late-breaking sliders and a fading changeup during a seven-inning masterpiece that led to a 14-3 rout.
But it wasn’t all easy for the Mets’ hard-throwing righty.
Syndergaard had to survive a rocky first inning, during which he surrendered two hits, a run and hit a batter.
But he quickly took control.
Following Anthony Rizzo’s RBI single on a 1-2 curveball, Syndergaard went almost exclusively to the slider as his secondary option to complete a dominant seven innings of one-run, seven-hit ball, including eight strikeouts.
“He was attacking the strike zone and using all his pitches,” catcher Rene Rivera said. “His curveball, slider, and we threw a couple of changeups out there, but the main thing was he was calm. He was hitting his spots and his velocity was there.”
With the whole arsenal at his disposal, Syndergaard eased the minds of Mets fans and the organization at large. After allowing a leadoff single in the second inning to Javier Baez, he retired the next 11 batters, spanning the second through fifth with five of those outs coming via the strikeout.
It was a stark contrast to his previous start, when he lasted just three innings and surrendered five runs against the Nationals.
“I just felt really calm out there and wasn’t trying to do too much,” Syndergaard said after earning his ninth win. “The start against the Nationals, I felt really, really strong, and I just kept trying to throw the ball harder and harder as opposed to going out there and pitching.”
The result was more movement on his fastball to either quadrant of the strike zone, where he overpowered hitters while also showing depth and velocity on his slider, which made some batters look downright silly.
It marked a return to normal for the one of the Mets’ aces following a dismal previous two outings in which he surrendered 15 hits and eight earned runs, struck out nine and watched his ERA rise from 1.91 to 2.49.
“I just try to go out there and pound the strike zone,” Syndergaard said of pitching with a big lead. “It was really fun to see our offense come alive. It makes my job a lot easier. The last thing you want to do when you have a big lead like that is to just start walking guys. I went about my game and pounded the zone.”
Just as easily as he dismissed Cubs’ hitters, Syndergaard deflected praise, knowing full well his job isn’t done.
Bad news for future opponents.
