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Thor a mere mortal during recent stretch
- Updated: August 6, 2016
DETROIT — Of all the troubling trends that have affected the Mets in recent weeks, perhaps none looms more sinister than the simple fact that Noah Syndergaard is mortal again.
For the fifth consecutive start and the seventh time in his last eight tries, Syndergaard was unable to pitch into the latter third of a game. For the third straight outing, he needed at least 112 pitches to complete six innings. And for the fourth time in Syndergaard’s last seven starts, the Mets lost, this one a 4-3 defeat to the Tigers on Friday at Comerica Park.
These are almost unfathomable statistics. These are not the types of things that made Syndergaard perhaps baseball’s most-feared pitcher over the season’s first three months.
“He’s had to work very, very hard — harder than he probably ever has since he’s been a Major League pitcher,” Mets manager Terry Collins said. “But to be honest, even though it’s tough, I think it’s good for him. If you’re going to learn how to pitch at this level, you’ve got to learn how to pitch through tough times. And right now, he’s going through tough times.”
Rarely has Syndergaard pitched poorly enough to take his team out of games. But Friday provided the latest example of how far he has ventured from his old dominant self.
Struggling to put hitters away on two-strike counts, Syndergaard gave up a leadoff single to Ian Kinsler on an eight-pitch at-bat in the first inning, then watched as Kinsler swiped two bases …
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