After allowing six hits through the first two innings, Noah Syndergaard settled down to retire 12 Royals in a row in the Mets’ 9-3 Game 3 World Series win Friday.
Syndergaard struck out six batters and allowed three runs, seven hits and two walks in six innings for the Mets, who now trail the series 2-1.
“When we set up the rotation, the way Noah had been pitching, you kind of look at Game 3 as a pivotal game…..and he delivered,” Mets manager Terry Collins said. “He came through exactly how we expected him to.”
He allowed one run in the first inning and gave up four hits and two runs in the second inning, but had 1-2-3 third, fourth and fifth innings before running into trouble again in the sixth.
He surrendered an infield single and back-to-back walks to load the bases for Alex Rios. Terry Collins opted to stick with Syndergaard, who got Rios to ground out to short on his 104th pitch.
“He was throwing so well, and I just kind of liked his power stuff against Rios,” Collins said. “And I was going to give him one more guy, and see if he could get him out and he did it. I just thought that was a situation where, listen, we needed that third out and I thought he was the guy to do it.”
To start the game, Syndergaard threw a 98 mph fastball up and in to Alcides Escobar on the first pitch, knocking him to the ground.
“That’s my plate out there, not theirs,” said Syndergaard, who dropped two curveballs to Escobar before striking him out on a 99 mph fastball.
Matthew Cerrone
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Noah is quickly becoming my favorite pitcher on this staff. THIS is what we wanted to see. I love Jake and Harv, but they clearly pitched to a scouting report and let Kansas City’s reputation get in their heads. Syndergaard, on the other hand, used that information and said, ‘No, I don’t think so.’
According to Syndergaard, he had the idea to throw high and tight to Escobar the night before. He talked to his catcher, Travis D’Arnaud, about it when they first got to the ballpark Friday, noting his curve ball would be the next pitch in the sequence. That is awesome and great to hear. This is what Roger Clemens or Pedro Martinez would have done. In fact, this style is what Pedro was literally singing Thor’s praises on the TBS pre- and post-game show during the first two rounds of the playoffs.
Syndergaard is a big, country hardball guy from Texas, who, like Clemens, knows that pitching is about changing speeds and keeping hitters on their toes. He isn’t afraid to get up in their kitchen and make them uncomfortable. If the Royals have a problem with it, they should learn about Roger, Pedro, Bob Gibson, Nolan Ryan, Randy Johnson, and countless other legendary, hard-throwing guys who let it be known that the plate belongs to the man on the mound, not the guy in the box.
Lastly, this sets a tone for the rest of the World Series. The Mets said, ‘We’re not afraid, and we’re not done,’ which is how fans and the players entered the building Friday. David Wright showed it with his bat. We showed it with our voices. Noah showed it to Escobar on the first pitch of the game. It ain’t over until we say it’s over…
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