Noah Syndergaard has 20 strikeouts in three postseason appearances, a franchise-record for strikeouts by a rookie in a postseason.
His 20 strikeouts are tied for the fifth-most by a National League rookie in postseason history, trailing only Michael Wacha’s 33 in 2013, Tim Belcher’s 26 in 1988, Livan Hernandez’s 26 in 1997 and Fernando Valenzuela’s 26 in 1981. Syndergaard is the fourth pitcher in Mets franchise history to strike out nine or more twice in a single postseason, joining Tom Seaver in 1973, Dwight Gooden in 1988 and Al Leiter in 2000.
He’s the fourth pitcher to record at least nine strikeouts in each of his first two career postseason starts. Bob GIbson, Curt Schilling and Jake Arrieta are the others. Noah Syndergaard is 8-2 with a 2.41 ERA (24 earned runs/89.2 innings) in 13 starts at Citi Field (including the postseason). He had a 2.46 ERA during the regular season at home, which was the 10th-best in the majors (minimum 80 innings).
According to Pitch f/x, Syndergaard’s fastball averaged 98.7 mph in his NLDS start, 99.3 mph in his relief outing and 98.4 mph in his NLCS start. In his NLDS start, he reached a season-high maximum fastball velocity of 101.3 mph, while he reached 100 mph in his last start. Syndergaard’s fastball had an average velocity of 96.5 mph this season, trailing only Nathan Eovaldi’s mark of 96.6 for the fastest in the majors (min. 140 IP).
He threw 1,421 pitches at 95 mph or faster, the second- most among all major league pitchers behind Pittsburgh’s Gerrit Cole (1,484). Syndergaard had the highest percentage of pitches of at least that speed (59.7%) among major league starters.
It’s a safe bet he’ll be on his game tonight. Speaking betting, check out Best Online Sportsbooks.
