NEW YORK -- New York Mets manager Terry Collins had a brief conversation with Noah Syndergaard after the eighth inning Wednesday at Citi Field.
“You OK?” Collins asked.
“Yeah, I want to go out,” Syndergaard replied.
And with that, Collins did not hesitate to send Syndergaard back to the mound with his pitch count at 97, in pursuit of his first career complete game.
“He deserved to go out there in the ninth inning and see if he could get the shutout,” Collins said after the Mets ultimately completed an 11-2 win against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Syndergaard, who had limited the Pirates to three hits in eight scoreless innings, surrendered a leadoff double to John Jaso in the ninth. Syndergaard then coaxed a groundout from Gregory Polanco as fans chanted "No-ah, No-ah," imploring him to get through the ninth.
However, when David Freese followed with a one-out RBI double, Collins retrieved Syndergaard.
Third baseman Wilmer Flores' throwing error after Jeurys Familia took over for Syndergaard allowed Pittsburgh’s second run to score. Syndergaard ultimately was charged with two runs (one earned) on five hits in a career-high 8⅓ innings. He struck out 11 batters as his ERA dipped to 1.91.
“I was kind of not very satisfied with myself after not being able to complete that game,” Syndergaard said. “But it was still a lot of fun to be a part of. The offense really came alive. It makes my job easier out there.”
Although the Mets’ young pitchers do not have the restrictive innings caps of a season ago, Collins has been cautious with his staff again this year. He decided to let Syndergaard toss 115 pitches -- one shy of matching his career high -- because Syndergaard was working on two extra days of rest Wednesday, and because Syndergaard again will get extra rest before his next start.
Syndergaard (7-2) appeared to have extra gas in the tank in his first outing in a full week. After allowing a game-opening single to Jaso, Syndergaard retired the next 17 batters, until Jaso singled again in the sixth.
Syndergaard averaged 99.0 mph with his fastball. That’s the second-highest average fastball velocity by a starting pitcher in a game this season. The only higher? That also belongs to Syndergaard, who averaged 99.1 mph on May 28 against the Los Angeles Dodgers while also pitching on extra rest. That's the game in which Syndergaard was controversially ejected for throwing a fastball behind Chase Utley in the third inning.
In fact, eight of the nine games with the highest fastball velocity by a starting pitcher this season belong to Syndergaard. The only exception: Seattle Mariners left-hander James Paxton's June 6 start against the Cleveland Indians, when he averaged 98.7 mph.
“Sometimes I try to focus on too much of the negative,” Syndergaard concluded as he began to look past failing to record his first complete game.
