SAN FRANCISCO _ All it took was 10 pitches in the first inning for Noah Syndergaard to tell catcher Tomas Nido _ with his actions, not his words _ it was going to be a good day.
A first-pitch fastball that turned into a Gregor Blanco pop-out. A 2-and-2 changeup to Joe Panik for a groundout. A 92.9-mph slider and a 91.1-mph changeup _ both whiffs _ to Evan Longoria.
Syndergaard had it all working Sunday, so Nido came away unsurprised at the result: the first complete game of Syndergaard's career in the Mets' 4-1 win against the Giants.
"It was just how quick it happened and his presence," Nido said. "From the bullpen (onward), he looked like he had command of all his pitches and was throwing them right where he wanted to. ... Every pitch was with a purpose."
Michael Conforto smacked a two-run home run to center in the second, his 20th long ball of the season, and Jeff McNeil added a two-run single in the eighth. The homer was another positive sign for Conforto, who after an up-and-down first half, the start of which was delayed by the last stages of his rehabilitation from major shoulder surgery last September, has picked it up considerably. He is hitting .261 with a .343 OBP and .484 slugging percentage since the All-Star break.
But Syndergaard was the star. In nine innings, he allowed two hits and one run _ Alen Hanson after his sinking liner to right skipped past a diving Brandon Nimmo for a triple. Syndergaard walked one and struck out 11. His only baserunner in the final five innings was courtesy of a throwing error by first baseman Jay Bruce.
The game plan was for Syndergaard to mix in all of his pitches early, a prescription simplified by his good feel for all of them. Only 39 percent of his pitches were fastballs _ four-seamers and sinkers _ according to MLB's pitch-tracking technology, significantly lower than his average of 54 percent.
"Their game plan was to come out and jump on the fastball and I didn't allow them to do that," Syndergaard said.
When Syndergaard blew a 98.6-mph fastball by Chase d'Arnaud, the 100th pitch of his afternoon, at the end of the eighth, he walked down the dugout steps to Callaway's quick question: "How are you feeling?" Said Syndergaard: "I assumed that's what the game plan was. I had plenty of juice in the tank." Nobody was moving in the bullpen. Syndergaard was getting a chance to be his own closer.
He ended it with a 99-mph sinker to Longoria for a swinging strike three.
"It's an amazing feeling. It's a beautiful day in San Fran," Syndergaard said, noting he likes pitching here because he doesn't sweat as much. "I have my family here. I couldn't have asked for a better day."
Amid an underwhelming season, including a 4.74 ERA in August, Syndergaard needed this, manager Mickey Callaway said.
"He needed it for a lot of reasons," Callaway said. "One, to understand that he's still working on things, but the time to work on things is in between starts, not when you're out there competing."
Said pitching coach Dave Eiland: "You trust the work you put in during the week between starts, your side sessions. We get all that straightened out, boom, boom, boom, boom, and you trust it to take it into the game."
That has been among the toughest lessons for Syndergaard this year: Don't try to tinker with his mechanics in-game. It's much easier said than done.
"It's something I've been trying to work on all season. It's kind of hindered me a little bit," Syndergaard said. "I was just going out there and trusting my stuff and make quality pitches.
"I told myself at the end of August that I have a fresh, clean slate to start September and take myself into the offseason. I took that to heart and just want to finish the season strong."
