Syndergaard has tough act to follow

Noah Syndergaard is ready to take the baton.

If the rookie righthander needed any additional inspiration for his scheduled start Friday night in Pittsburgh, it came from watching Jacob deGrom manhandle the Cardinals on Thursday.

“He was lights out,” Syndergaard said after deGrom’s onehitter over eight innings with 11 strikeouts led the Mets to a 50 victory. “He had great command of his fastball and he established that and let his offspeed pitches play off his fastball and he had a lot of success and was fun to watch.”

Syndergaard allowed one run over six innings against the Brewers on Sunday to earn his first major league victory and wants to go deeper against the Pirates.

Team brass has not committed to Syndergaard beyond this start, as Dillon Gee, who made his second rehab start for SingleA St. Lucie on Thursday with 6 ¹/₃ scoreless innings, nears a return from the disabled list.

“I want to get into the seventh [inning] and maybe even the eighth,” Syndergaard said.

➤ John Mayberry Jr. delivered an RBI single with the bases loaded in the fourth inning, following his gamewinning hit in the 14th on Monday. In that game, Mayberry singled with the bases loaded.

Overall, Mayberry is batting .150.

“John is here to play against lefthanded pitching and when he gets hits and drives in runs, I think they have got to help your confidence,” manager Terry

Collins said.

➤ Bobby Parnell and Vic Black were scheduled to make rehab appearances for SingleA St. Lucie on Thursday, but Parnell didn’t pitch. Black tossed twothirds of an inning, allowing one run. Both are expected to move to DoubleA Bingham ton for further work.

➤ Rafael Montero, who has been sidelined for three weeks with shoulder soreness, still hasn’t resumed playing catch after a recent shutdown, according to Collins.

➤ The Mets are 176 at Citi Field, which equals the best home start in franchise history after 23 games. In 1971 and ’72 the Mets also started 176 at home.