NEW YORK _ It's only in the strange, singular world of professional baseball that a small blister can cause wide-eyed alarm. Could mighty Noah Syndergaard really be felled by this tiny pocket of blood located on the tip of his middle finger?
In short, no. For a slightly longer answer, we throw it to Terry Collins: "He's fine."
Syndergaard continued to be the most valuable of the Mets' arms Sunday night, vanquishing the hand invader that forced the Mets to push back his start one day. He allowed two runs (one earned) and five hits over seven innings, walking none and striking out nine. He threw 103 pitches. Almost as big, he went deep enough to mostly save an overtaxed, and recently unreliable bullpen.
Addison Reed pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning to finish off the Mets' 5-2 win over the Marlins to avoid a sweep. The Mets finished their six-game homestand to open the season at 3-3.
The Mets, who have been mired in an offensive slump, broke out early against Edinson Volquez, scoring three in the first. With a runner on third, Jay Bruce hit a dribbler up the first-base line that looked destined for an out at home plate. But Justin Bour's throw to home was flubbed by catcher J.T. Realmuto. Asdrubal Cabrera, who had been heading back to third, charged back home as the ball skittered away. Neil Walker tacked on an RBI single and Michael Conforto walked with the bases loaded to make it 3-0. The Mets added on in the fifth and sixth, on solo home runs from Bruce and Conforto.
That was plenty for Syndergaard, who pitched like he didn't have a care in the world. Collins said before the game that Syndergaard would probably be inclined to stay away from his changeup, or be forced to change his grip, since the three-fingered hold put pressure on the middle finger upon release. Instead, after a first inning full of fastballs and sliders, a swaggy Syndergaard pretty much shrugged and went back to his other secondary pitches: a whole bunch of changeups, and even a curveball or two.
"He'll be pitching with no limitations on his finger," Collins said. "His finger is fine. If you have a blister, you should go see our trainers, because they can fix that sucker in about two days. It's amazing, it really is. I looked at his hand yesterday and there's not even _ you don't even notice it."
Don't laugh: A blister may not seem like a big deal _ and most of the times, it's absolutely not _ but the Mets have been very skittish with their big arms. Last season's injuries to Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom and Steven Matz mostly began with early proclamations that they'd be fine. They were not. Zack Wheeler had Tommy John surgery and disappeared for two years. Matz is hurt again, and Lugo is out indefinitely. In short, the Mets do not take chances with the best one of the bunch.
Unsurprisingly, Syndergaard hasn't been all that keen on talking about what amounts to a minor inconvenience. He was in a good mood before his start, taking his usual station next to the Mets' nerf basketball net and shooting a few rounds. The last update from him came Thursday, when he noted gravely that "they won't have to amputate it."
On Sunday, he hummed along despite a few misplays from the guys behind him. The Marlins' only runs against Syndergaard came in the third, thanks to a misplayed ball in left-center. Derek Dietrich hit a long fly ball, toward Conforto, playing in center, out of his usual position. Conforto didn't take charge, so Yoenis Cespedes scooted in front of him to make the play, only to drop it. Dietrich ended up at second, Miguel Rojas doubled and Dee Gordon eventually brought them both home on a double up the left-field line.
But teammates giveth, and teammates taketh away. For Syndergaard, in that inning, the order was reversed. After the misplay, Rene Rivera limited the damage, throwing out two potential base stealers: Gordon, trying to advance to third, and Realmuto, to end the inning.
Collins couldn't have scripted it any better if he tried: a healthy ace, and all but one batter in the starting lineup reached base (Jose Reyes, who was 0-for-4, continues to struggle.)
"You've got to go with track records and we have a lot of guys with really, really good track records," Collins said of their recent offensive woes. "I've seen too many times guys get off to slow starts ... I think we're going to hit and when you combine that with that pitching that I think is still going to be dominant, we'll be just fine."
