Rivera steals show &
Last season, opponents ran rampant on Noah Syndergaard. The Mets ace, despite his 100-mph fastball, struggled to hold base runners on. He didn’t mix up his deliveries to keep them honest. His time to the plate was slow. And over the course of Syndergaard’s 30 starts, runners were successful stealing on 48 of their 57 attempts.
But if Sunday night was any indication, Syndergaard will not have the same problems in 2017. He’s improved the speed of his delivery. He’s more comfortable with runners on base, pitching out of the stretch. And the blond-haired flamethrower has also developed a strong rapport with Rene Rivera, who threw out two potential stealers in a crucial third inning of a 5-2 win over the Marlins. Miami second baseman Dee Gordon knocked in two runs with an RBI double to left before trying to swipe third off Syndergaard. Rivera was ready and rifled a perfect throw to Jose Reyes, who tagged Gordon for the second out of the inning. The ensuing batter, J.T. Realmuto reached on a single. He tried to steal second on the third pitch of the next at-bat. Rivera fired another strong throw to catch Realmuto and end the inning with the 3-2 lead still intact.
“Noah gave Rene a chance to make a play,” Terry Collins said. “And certainly that’s why he catches Noah, because I just think they mesh very good together, and teams are going to be a little more hesitant to run now that Noah’s speeding things up.”
Syndergaard is appreciative of his connection with Rivera, who has helped the
24-year-old starter correct one of the few flaws in his game.
“That’s amazing,” Syndergaard said of Rivera’s two throws in the third inning. “Rene and I were on the same page. … He gets me back on track when things are starting to spiral out of control. And he’s able to limit the running game. I feel like I’ve done a really good job of helping him out, varying my looks and mixing in better times.”
OH NO, JOSE
Syndergaard has more hits this season than Jose Reyes.
The Mets leadoff man has started 2017 in a miserable slump. He’s mustered just one hit in 23 at-bats and went 0-for-4 in Sunday’s victory. Collins believes Reyes is pressing.
“I think he’s over-swinging right now,” the Mets manager said.
“He’s always been an aggressive guy. He’s never been a big walk guy. But I just think right now he’s trying way too hard. I see probably the hardest swing I’ve seen him take ever. … Right now I just think he’s really overaggressive.”