NEW YORK _ Noah Syndergaard completed his long journey Saturday night.
It began on the mound in Washington on April 30 when the Mets' ace right-hander threw a pitch, grabbed under his arm and had to come out of the game. It ended on the mound Saturday night at Citi Field with him pitching a scoreless first inning against the Nationals in what would become a 4-3 loss in 10 innings before 34,455.
Former Met Daniel Murphy hit his 23rd homer off Jacob Rhame to start the 10th and send the Nationals to the win.
Long gone from Syndergaard's rearview mirror are the arm stiffness that pushed that start to Washington, his refusal to get an MRI before pitching again and the diagnosis of a partially torn right lat muscle. Having accomplished the goal of getting big-league hitters out again this season, he can see a normal offseason and healthy 2018.
"Any time you set personal goals and achieve them, it means a lot to you," manager Terry Collins said. "As you look back over the rehab and you know how hard it was, you can finally get back out there and say, 'OK, it was all worth it, I'm back.' "
Syndergaard threw only five pitches: a slider for a ball and four fastballs for strikes that clocked 98 or 99 mph. He allowed a single by Jayson Werth, then erased him when Murphy hit the next pitch hard on the ground for a double play.
Matt Harvey came out of the bullpen for the first time in his career to start the second. His fifth outing since coming off the disabled list with a stress injury to his right scapula had some positive signs in it but couldn't be characterized as good.
Harvey's fastball crackled at 95 mph throughout the 80-pitch, four-inning appearance, but the results were not fabulous. The Mets handed him a 3-0 lead with three runs in the bottom of the third and he gave it all back in the fourth and fifth. Adam Lind hit a two-run homer with two outs in the fourth and Matt Wieters hit a solo shot to start the fifth.
Harvey has a 12.27 ERA in five outings since his return. After the previous appearance, in which he got tagged for seven runs and 14 hits in four innings, he had nothing to say. Collins said before the game: "I don't know where his confidence is. It's like anything: you get beat up enough and it's not great.
"I can't tell you how many times I've told him, 'That's not the point. The point is go pitch. The point is get better.' ... It's these little steps that will make sure we know where at so he can get ready for next year," Collins said. "It's not about whether he gives up two runs or 10 runs. It's about going out and trying to do the little things he'll have to do to be the Matt Harvey we know he can be."
Michael Conforto said Saturday that the approximate timetable for a return to baseball activities from his Sept. 6 shoulder surgery is six months. He could not promise that he will be able to start the 2018 season on time but said: "I can tell you I'm going to do everything I can to be ready as soon as possible. At the same time, I want to be ready to play at the same level I was playing at when I do come back."
