ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Syndergaard heads to disabled list as the mets' rough month continues

ATLANTA — May has been a rough month for the New York Mets. They have been one of the worst teams in baseball since their hot start to the season and they received the first of two more blows Tuesday afternoon when they unexpectedly announced that Noah Syndergaard, one of the team’s two reliable starting pitchers, was headed to the 10-day disabled list with a strained ligament in the index finger of his throwing hand.

Earlier in the day, Syndergaard was examined by team doctors in New York after reporting soreness in the finger on his right hand. A magnetic resonance imaging examination and a doctor’s evaluation diagnosed the strain.

“It started popping up after his last start and he really noticed it on his bullpen day,” Mets manager Mickey Callaway said. He said the Mets hoped Syndergaard would miss just one start.

Syndergaard, 25, was spotted flexing the finger with an athletic trainer in the dugout during his last start, on Friday against the Milwaukee Brewers. His performance was solid: three runs, eight strikeouts and no walks over six innings. The sputtering Mets (26-26) lost that day because of a collapse by the bullpen, which has been the main culprit of the team’s recent woes.

ADVERTISEMENT

To fill the void created by Syndergaard, the Mets will further strain their already thin pitching depth by sticking with the struggling Jason Vargas. The team had been weighing its options with Vargas, who has a 10.62 ERA in five starts, but he will now start on Wednesday against the Braves on four days of rest.

The Mets were willing to do this because Vargas threw only 67 pitches over a three-inning clunker on Saturday in Milwaukee.

“It’s something we have to do,” Vargas said. “Obviously it’s not ideal. We’d love to have Noah at 100 percent.”

Seth Lugo, one of the Mets’ best relief pitchers, will return to the rotation, where he pitched the previous two seasons, to face the Chicago Cubs on Thursday. Callaway said that is why he stretched Lugo out to two innings in Monday’s doubleheader. Lugo will be limited to four innings or 65 pitches on Thursday.

“I’ve always been a starter,” Lugo said. “I’m more comfortable with that spot. Easy for me to get back in the routine.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Playing with a short-handed pitching staff, the Mets needed Matz, 27, to pitch deep into Tuesday’s game. His first three innings were scoreless, lowering his ERA to 3.50.

But after throwing warmup pitches to start the fourth inning, Matz received a visit from head athletic trainer Brian Chicklo and left the game. While the Mets announced that an X-ray examination on Matz’s left middle finger showed no breaks, that would not reveal any potential ligament or tendon damage.

The Mets nearly pulled out the victory thanks to two home runs from second baseman Asdrubal Cabrera and one from first baseman Adrian Gonzalez. But as in their past six losses, the strained Mets bullpen blew the game. Rookies Jacob Rhame and Gerson Bautista were at the center of the action, with Bautista coughing up the walk-off home run to Johan Camargo in the bottom of the ninth inning.

Syndergaard could have kept pitching through the finger injury, but the Mets wanted him to rest. If all goes well, he is expected to wear a finger splint for a few days, try a bullpen session over the weekend, and return as soon as he is eligible to come off the disabled list, early next week against the Baltimore Orioles. His 10-day stint on the disabled list was backdated to his last start.

The Mets’ disabled list already included key players: outfielders Yoenis Cespedes and Juan Lagares, relief pitchers Anthony Swarzak and A.J. Ramos, and infielders Todd Frazier and Wilmer Flores.

ADVERTISEMENT

A medical incident last year with Syndergaard was a key moment in the downfall of the Mets’ old medical staff and in their disappointing 2017 season. Syndergaard refused an MRI last April after some soreness in his right biceps, and the Mets did not require him to undergo the examination. He then hurt his right latissimus in his next start and missed 4 1/2 months of the season, raising many questions about the Mets’ medical protocols, which later changed.

Even though Syndergaard was not pitching up to his highest standards this year, he was performing well. He had a 3.06 ERA and 76 strikeouts over 64 2/3 innings. His walk rate doubled from last year to 4.8 percent, but was still low. His average fastball velocity was down nearly 1 mph from last year, but still plenty at 97.4 mph, and he was using all of his pitches.

Now, the Mets’ uneven rotation will be without one of its two best pitchers — and perhaps another — and the top-heavy bullpen will be short one reliable arm.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

JAMES WAGNER © 2018 The New York Times

JOIN OUR PULSE COMMUNITY!

Unblock notifications in browser settings.
ADVERTISEMENT

Eyewitness? Submit your stories now via social or:

Email: eyewitness@pulse.ng

Recommended articles

Here's everything to know about being a virgin on your wedding night

Here's everything to know about being a virgin on your wedding night

7 do's and don’ts of the Holy month of Ramadan

7 do's and don’ts of the Holy month of Ramadan

Top 5 sweetest celebrity mother-child relationships that stand out for us

Top 5 sweetest celebrity mother-child relationships that stand out for us

International Women's Day: 5 Nigerian female celebrities championing women’s rights

International Women's Day: 5 Nigerian female celebrities championing women’s rights

Top 5 female directors in Nollywood

Top 5 female directors in Nollywood

6 things that will break a Muslim's fast during Ramadan

6 things that will break a Muslim's fast during Ramadan

5 benefits of fasting during Ramadan

5 benefits of fasting during Ramadan

5 reasons Easter was more fun when we were children

5 reasons Easter was more fun when we were children

Dos and don’ts of supporting Muslims during Ramadan

Dos and don’ts of supporting Muslims during Ramadan

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT