In six innings Monday, Noah Syndergaard gave the Mets fans hope and then reminded them just how fragile that hope can be. The ace threw six scoreless innings before he was forced out of the game with a blood blister in the Mets’ 6-0 Opening Day win over the Braves in front of 44,384 at Citi Field.
Syndergaard dominated the Braves, striking out seven and scattering five hits, before leaving with the blister on the top of his right middle finger. News that righthander Seth Lugo will be “out a few weeks,” with an elbow issue that the Mets will not reveal followed the games. Before, lefty Steven Matz revealed he was diagnosed with a flexor tendon strain in his left elbow and not just simple irritations.
The pitching depth the Mets had been so excited about in spring training is already being stretched thin after the first day of the season.
That ominous fact overshadowed the Mets’ six-run seventh inning off the Braves’ horrible bullpen, three hits by shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera, the three-run double by Lucas Duda, and Syndergaard, Hansel Robles, Fernando Salas and Robert Gsellman combining to throw the Mets’ first Opening Day shutout since 2012.
With the bulk of those expectations riding on starting arms like Syndergaard’s, what is described as a small blister cast a big shadow over the Mets’ Opening Day win.
While Syndergaard said the blister is not something he is concerned about, the Mets will give him an extra day of rest this week. They pushed back his scheduled Saturday start to Sunday night. Gsellman, who pitched an inning of relief Monday, will start on Saturday instead of Sunday.
Terry Collins said with any issue with their pitchers, the Mets want to err on the side of caution.
“We lost Seth Lugo today for a period of time, so we know that how important it is to keep our pitchers healthy,” the Mets manager said. “Actually (pitching coach) Dan (Warthen) and I had been contemplating giving Noah and extra day this week before this. That blister settles it. We’ll him back a day later. I think it’s the right decision.”
Collins and Warthen made the decision to shut Syndergaard down Monday as soon as they found out about the blister.
“It’s a small blood blister, started probably around the second inning or so,” Syndergaard said with a shrug. “It popped in the fifth inning and started to bother me.”
Syndergaard impressively got out of jams in the fourth and sixth innings before telling Warthen about the blister. With runners on the corners and one out, Syndergaard got Matt Kemp to strike out swinging on his new-found changeup. Then, after falling behind Nick Markakis 3-0, Syndergaard battled back and got the Braves right fielder to fly out and end the inning on a 99-mph fastball. Syndergaard had struck out Kemp and Markakis in the fourth with Freddie Freeman on third.
“I felt like I did a very good job in the fourth and the sixth innings. I didn’t let the game speed up on me too much,” Syndergaard said. “I found a little extra gear. That’s why we compete, because it’s fun, it’s fun to have the opposition challenge you.
“It was really encouraging to get out of tough jams like that,” Syndergaard said.
The potential of injury, however, is discouraging.
The Mets came into spring with seven guys they felt could start for them. Matz was shut down the last week of spring training. Monday he said he has the flexor tendon strain and “the plan now,” is to rest and then begin throwing the last week in April, which will basically force him to start spring training all over again.
The Mets believe Lugo’s injury stems from his appearance in the World Baseball Classic, where he threw 15 hard innings for Puerto Rico. Lugo said he would see a doctor about a second opinion Monday, but would not say what diagnosis he is seeking to confirm. Lugo had an MRI on Saturday and the Mets listed him with right elbow “irritation,” when they put him in the disabled list Sunday.
That quickly depletes the Mets’ depth of starting pitching.
“There is some trepidation there. We’ve got to stay healthy,” Collins admitted about the concerns about pitchers injuries. “We preach it, preach it, preach it and now we’ve got to act on it.”
PLAY OF THE GAME
With runners on the corners and blood blister that was starting to bother him on the top of his middle finger, Noah Syndergaard had to face the Braves’ fourth and fifth hitters. The right-hander who worked on his changeup all spring, pulled it out to strike out Matt Kemp. Then Syndergaard, who had started the day with a 99-mile an hour fastball, ended his day with one. He got Nick Markakis to fly on on that, his final pitch of the afternoon.
“That to me was the difference in the game,” Mets manager Terry Collins said. “When he had runners in scoring position, he upped his game, and that’s what the great ones do. You watch him, coast along, coast along, then all the sudden under pressure, the stuff gets a little bit better.”
TURNING POINT
While Collins had a flashback to last September when Wilmer Flores suffered a season-ending hand injury trying to score from second base against the Braves, everyone else in the ballpark saw that somehow the infielder had, in fact, beaten catcher Tyler Flowers’ tag. The not so fleet-footed Flores scored the first run of the game (and the season) on Asdrubal Cabrera’s single in the seventh after quick video-review changed the initial call. The Mets went on to score five more runs that inning.
“I thought ‘Oh no we’re going to go through this again.’ He didn’t do a head first slide again, that helps,” Collins said sarcastically.
STAR OF THE GAME
Noah Syndergaard was as dominating as expected. He struck out seven, scattered five hits and did not walk a batter in the no-decision. The 24-year old is the third youngest Opening Day starter in Mets history, only Dwight Gooden, four times (1985-86 and 1988-89) and Tom Seaver, twice (1968-69) were younger when they made the first start of the season. The last Mets pitcher to strike out at least seven batters without issuing a walk on Opening Day was Jerry Koosman in 1978 in a complete-game win against the Expos. The last Mets pitcher to throw at least six scoreless on Opening Day was Bobby Jones in 1998 against the Phillies.
STAT
Mets pitchers did not issue a walk Monday. Last season the Mets led the major leagues in games without issuing a walk with 21. Noah Syndergaard had eight starts (nine appearances) last season without giving up a base on balls.
UNSUNG HERO
Asdrubal Cabrera drove in the first run of the season with his single in the seventh. He went 3-for-5, the first Met to have three hits in an Opening Day game since David Wright March 31, 2014 against the Nationals.
MIA: The Braves bullpen looks like it is going to be good hitting for the rest of the National League East. After Julio Teheran threw six scoreless, Ian Krol, Chaz Roe and Eric O’Flaherty, who was briefly with the Mets in 2015, gave up six runs on three hits and five walks.
UP NEXT
Wednesday vs. the Braves 7:10 p.m.
RHP Bartolo Colon (15-8, 3.43) vs. RHP Jacob deGrom (7-8, 3.04)
