The New York Mets need Thor to lay his hammer on the talented, relentless Kansas City Royals offense.
Thor — that would be rookie fireballer Noah Syndergaard — takes the mound for the Mets on Friday night at Citi Field with his team down 2-0 in the World Series. Thor, for those not up on their Norse mythology, is the hammer-wielding god of lighting and thunder.
The 6-foot-6, 242-pound, golden-haired Syndergaard sounds ready for the biggest challenge of his young career.
“You can’t be too focused on it (being) a World Series game,” said the 23-year-old, who is 1-1 with a 2.77 ERA in three postseason appearances (two starts), with 20 strikeouts in 13 innings.
“When I started in L.A. (in the playoffs), I thought it was going to be a totally, completely different game,” he said. “But in reality it’s the same game, a little louder, a little bit different atmosphere. But (catcher) Travis (d’Arnaud) is still 60 feet, 6 inches away and you still have to execute every single pitch.”
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Especially against the Royals, a team that manages to be ultra aggressive at the plate yet still puts the ball in play. They had the fewest strikeouts of any team in the majors this season. Facing Mets ace Jacob deGrom on Wednesday night in Game 2, the Royals had only three swings and misses off the 94 pitches deGrom threw.
Syndergaard, the hardest throwing of the Mets’ flamethrowers, regularly touching 100 mph this October, said he won’t fall into the trap of simply trying to overpower Kansas City hitters.
“Obviously they’re going against us with their strengths and their strength is how aggressive they are,” he said. “I can’t be too focused on that, because I still have to be able to pitch to my strengths.
“I was able to watch deGrom and see how he approached their hitters, and I saw how aggressive they were. I devised a game plan for myself.”
Of course, he won’t reveal what that plan is, but in addition to a two-seam and four-seam fastball, he throws an effective curveball and changeup, plus an occasional slider.
How confident are the Mets in their rookie? Confident enough that they nearly started Syndergaard in Game 1. It was discussed after the Mets swept the Cubs in the National League Championship Series.
Woody Paige:
“When we won in Chicago, we sat on the plane and his name was mentioned to open up the World Series,” manager Terry Collins said. “That’s how well we think he’s pitching. We’ve got great confidence in him.”
Collins, in fact, goes so far as to put Syndergaard in the same conversation as Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan.
“What this guy did when he pitched in Los Angeles, and what he did when he pitched in Chicago, we didn’t see that during the (regular) season,” Collins said. “This guy threw six innings at a hundred miles an hour in Los Angeles. Please show me anybody that’s done that, outside of Nolan, maybe. And that’s where this guy for me has risen to the occasion.
“Then I asked a 23-year-old to come back in Game 5 (of the NLDS) and pitch an inning out of the bullpen, which he’s never done in his life.”
Yet for all of the confidence the Mets express in Syndergaard, they are longshots to rally. Teams that win the first two games of a best-of-seven postseason series go on to win the series 83.3 percent of the time, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
“I mean, obviously, we didn’t plan this to happen, to be down 0-2,” Syndergaard said. “Coming back home is a big thing for us. Having the Mets faithful behind us and the greatest fans in baseball. Part of the reason our team has had so much success this year is being able to handle the resiliency and come together as a team.”
Patrick Saunders: psaunders@ or @psaundersdp
Game 3 starters
KANSAS CITY ROYALS
RHP Yordano Ventura: The 24-year-old from the Dominican Republic throws a four-seam fastball that averages 96 mph. He also throws a two-seam fastball, cutter, curve and changeup. Though capable of being a dominant pitcher, he can also be erratic, as his 5.09 postseason ERA shows. He has made four starts, but is 0-1 and has failed to pitch six complete innings. Of course, given how good the Royals’ bullpen is, he doesn’t have to go deep into games. He tends to be emotional and demonstrative on the mound, so it will be interesting to see how he deals with the New York crowd at Citi Field.
Quotable
“It pretty much is in my blood that when I strike out a guy in a big situation, I’m going to be myself and let it all out there.” — Ventura
NEW YORK METS
RHP Noah Syndergaard: According to FanGraphs, the rookie throws a 96½ mph four-seam fastball and a 97 mph two-seam fastball. His average fastball velocity was the highest of any major-leaguer who pitched at least 150 innings this year. In the National League playoffs, Syndergaard threw 22 pitches at least 100 mph and topped out at 101. He brings serious heat with serious movement. Add in an 82 mph curveball, which he threw 23 percent of the time during the regular season, and Syndergaard presents big problems for any team — even a Royals team that knows how to put the ball in play.
Quotable
“I have a few tricks up my sleeve that I’ll be able to break out (Friday) night. I’m looking forward to it.” — Syndergaard
Patrick Saunders, The Denver Post
