Noah Syndergaard gets vague IL stint as sad post-Mets fall gets worse
Noah Syndergaard is getting the opportunity to reset.
The former Mets ace has been a disaster with the Dodgers, and the team is sending him to the injured list with a blister.
That’s the official reason, anyway.
Syndergaard has squandered every chance in Los Angeles this year, to the tune of a 7.16 ERA — the highest of his career — and the Dodgers want to give him a mental and physical break, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Syndergaard’s performance has reached catastrophic lows recently.
On Wednesday night, the Reds’ young core teed off on the righty, launching two home runs, including a mammoth 458-foot shot from Elly De La Cruz that was the 21-year-old shortstop’s first big-league homer.
Reds catcher Tyler Stephenson knocked another homer off Syndergaard for his sixth earned run in just three innings.
It was Syndergaard’s third consecutive start giving up five or six runs.
His 7.16 ERA through 12 starts is the third-worst to start a season in Dodgers history.
“Obviously, I don’t think we can sustain this pace of performance,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, conceding that Syndergaard had been battling a blister issue. “We’re trying to turn over all the stones and find an answer, but we can’t come up with an answer.”
Noah Syndergaard has struggled mightily in his first season with the Dodgers. Getty Images
The Dodgers are facing pressure in the NL West divisional race from the upstart Diamondbacks, who have won eight out of their last 10 games and now lead the Dodgers by two games.
Syndergaard has fallen a great distance from his dominant days as “Thor” with the Mets when he racked up strikeouts and averaged nearly 99 mph on his fastball. These days, he’s down to 92 mph on his fastball, and his strikeout numbers have tumbled to just 6.18 per nine innings.
It’s an issue that’s weighed on him heavily.
Noah Syndergaard deals during a three-inning, six-run outing on June 7 against the Reds. Getty Images
“I would give my hypothetical first-born to be the old me again,” he told reporters after a loss last week to the Nationals. I’ll do anything possible to get back to that. I’m expected to go out there and compete, and today I just fell behind a lot of hitters.”
A trip to the injured list isn’t the only thing the Dodgers have tried this season to save Syndergaard’s season. They also sent him to hypnosis therapy in May, which didn’t lead to any positive results.
If there’s any team that might be successful in resurrecting Syndergaard’s career, it could be the Dodgers, who have turned numerous veterans into productive players, including helping Jason Heyward find his swing again this year.
But for now, Syndergaard is just taking a break.
Source: New York Post
