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JV’s squad schools Syndergaard, Mets
- Updated: August 6, 2016
DETROIT — The battle of young and old strikeout pitchers at Comerica Park went to the old guard on Friday night. Justin Verlander outpitched Noah Syndergaard with six innings of two-run ball and nine strikeouts, earning the Tigers their ninth win in 10 games with a 4-3 victory over the Mets.
The win, coupled with an Indians loss to the Yankees, cut Detroit’s deficit to two games behind Cleveland in the American League Central.
Verlander (12-6) won his fifth consecutive decision since the beginning of July and his third in as many starts. He did so by pitching to the Mets in reverse at times, mixing sliders and curveballs to set up a mid-90s fastball. Once he had his combination working, he struck out six in a seven-batter span into the fourth, then retired seven of his final eight hitters following Kelly Johnson’s two-run homer.
• No changing of guard as Verlander bests Thor
“Whether it’s him versus Syndergaard or him versus Chris Sale, his concentration goes up to another notch,” Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said of Verlander. “He wants to beat that guy. Even though they don’t actually face each other in the American League, he wants to beat that guy or walk off the field with the lead.”
Syndergaard (9-6) matched him early, retiring eight in a row after Ian Kinsler singled and scored in the first inning. Three consecutive hits leading off the fourth, including Victor Martinez’s two-run homer and J.D. Martinez’s double, proved costly for Syndergaard. He struck out seven batters over six innings, but he yielded four runs on seven hits.
• Thor a mere mortal during recent stretch
The Mets have not won consecutive games since July 6-7, almost a full month ago.
“It seems like there’s a night where we pitch well and we don’t hit, then another night we score six and we win the game,” Mets manager Terry Collins said. “Then the next night, we don’t hit again. It’s certainly hard to understand why we’re going like that.”
MOMENTS THAT MATTEREDKinsler creates offense: The Tigers haven’t needed to manufacture many runs lately the way they’ve been hitting, …
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