Thor hammers naysayers, Callaway rumors

MIAMI — Noah Syndergaard has a new rallying cry: Remember 2015.

After giving his team seven strong innings Sunday in which he took the loss after allowing two earned runs against Miami, the Mets righthander indicated he hasn’t given up on this season, despite the team’s ugly 20-25 record.

“I think we have dug ourselves into a little bit of a hole,” Syndergaard said after the Mets lost 3-0 and were swept three games by the worst team in the major leagues. “Before anybody starts pressing the panic button, I just think everybody should be reminded of where we were in 2015.

“There were a lot of guys on this team that weren’t there then, but we were in a lot lesser shape and it was later in the season and we had some pretty good results that season.”

The Mets were 36-37 on June 24 of that season before climbing above .500 and staying there, getting hot over the final months of the season to win the NL East and advance to the World Series. But the Mets also remade themselves along the way, trading for players such as Yoenis Cespedes, Kelly Johnson and Juan Uribe.

As for manager Mickey Callaway’s tenuous job status, Syndergaard said he has tried to avoid getting caught up in the talk.

“I respect the hell out of Mickey,” Syndergaard said. “Mickey has tremendous leadership values. I think it’s bulls--- what’s going on with this speculation there could be a change because we’re so early in the season — we’re a very small step away from putting this all together.”

The Mets haven’t officially named a starting pitcher for Monday, but the team was leaning toward right-hander Drew Gagnon, who wasn’t needed from the bullpen in the Marlins series. The rookie right-hander pitched 2 2/3 innings of shutout relief in his appearance against the Nationals last week. Gagnon hasn’t allowed a run over his past five outings, spanning 5 2/3 innings.

J.D. Davis had both of the Mets’ hits Sunday in a 2-for-3 performance. Davis is 9-for-27 (.333) with a homer and three RBIs over his past eight games. He has been splitting time at third base recently with Todd Frazier, but could be an option in the outfield on the next homestand.