Noah Gets Nod For Wild Card
Now that the excitement of a playoff berth is a few days removed, it’s time for the New York Mets to get down to brass tacks. The 2016 season now hinges on a single elimination wild card game against the San Francisco Giants.
With the mounting pressure to repeat another run to the World Series, the Mets found themselves sitting in second place behind the Washington Nationals for a majority of the year. Taking into account all of the injuries sustained to high-impact players, the fact they were able to obtain the wild card spot is remarkable.
Not very surprising that the Mets will place the ball in the hands of Noah Syndergaard.
The 24-year-old Syndergaard is in his sophomore season and has been proclaimed the Mets unofficial ace. With Jacob deGrom, Steven Matz, Matt Harvey and Zack Wheeler all lost to season-ending injuries it wasn’t really that hard to give Syndergaard the nod. He has been able to battle through bone spurs that still pose a question if they will require a surgical intervention.
There was a period just before the All-star break that left everyone wondering if Syndergaard would continue to be effective. He was forced to miss the All-star game with shoulder discomfort. The affectionately nicknamed Thor came back and has been “dropping the hammer” on his opponents ever since. He concluded the regular season with a 14–9 record and 2.60 ERA.
“I wouldn’t really call it nerves,” Syndergaard said on SNY. “Really no reason to be nervous when you’re prepared. That’s my motto. I’m more anxious and just excited to get out there and compete.”
Syndergaard is now seeing the postseason for the second time. He was the only Mets pitcher to get a win in last years World Series, back when he was a 23-year-old rookie. The Mets should be hopeful that his maturity through the season and taste of the big stage will be a positive entering the single-elimination wild card game.
Syndergaard does have a tough task ahead. He has faced the Giants three times and the Giants were the victors on two of those occasions. But that was the regular season and now the slate is wiped clean.
“He’s not afraid,” manager Terry Collins said. “He’s not intimidated. He’s the right guy.”
