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Noah Syndergaard had one of the worst outings of his career last week against the Cubs. He seemed determined Monday to not let it happen again.
Syndergaard dominated the division rival Nationals on Monday in the nation’s capital, holding them to just three hits while fanning 10 batters across seven shutout innings. “Thor” didn’t issue a single walk and needed only 90 pitches to cruise through his seven frames as the Mets won 7-3.
Last week’s three-inning, 10-run (nine earned) clunker has been the outlier when it comes to Syndergaard’s second-half performance, as it’s been the only time in 10 tries that he didn’t post a quality start. In fact, he’s permitted two or fewer runs in eight of his outings, overall holding a 2.80 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 70/13 K/BB ratio over 64 1/3 innings.
Syndergaard “only” having 171 strikeouts over 170 innings this season has been a bit of a disappointment. It’s the second season in a row that he’s right at a strikeout per frame after he was well above that in his first three years in the league. You expect a little more from him, especially with strikeouts on the rise around the league.
Still, Monday’s showing displayed Thor’s immense upside, as he tallied 18 swinging strikes while notching his third double-digit strikeout game of the season. Syndergaard will have another big divisional matchup this weekend against the Phillies.
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Digging Cole
Rotation mates Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole are, in all likelihood, battling for the American League Cy Young award. Verlander set the bar impossibly high on Sunday with his third career no-hitter. Cole did his best Monday to keep up.
Cole struck out 14 batters for the second start in a row Monday in Milwaukee, holding the Brewers to just one run over six innings of work. He served up a solo home run to Yasmani Grandal but that’s it, settling for a no-decision in what turned out to be an extra-innings win for the Astros.
Not only was it the second straight start with 14 punchouts for Cole, it was the fourth straight outing with double-digit strikeouts. The right-hander has now tallied double digits in strikeouts in 16 of 28 starts this season. He’s fanned a major league-leading 266 batters while issuing just 43 walks over 176 1/3 innings.
After Monday’s effort, Cole now boasts a 2.26 ERA, 0.80 WHIP and 96/13 K/BB ratio over 59 2/3 innings across nine second-half starts. Out of pitchers that have thrown at least 140 innings this season, only Cole (0.95) and Verlander (0.77) have a WHIP below 1.00.
Good luck to whoever has to face the Astros in a playoff series. At least they’ll get a little break when they go up against Zack Greinke in Game 3.
Dodgers Making Changes
On one hand, it’s a surprise to see a team that’s 40 games over .500 make some relatively drastic changes in September. On the other hand, changes and moving pieces is kind of what the Dodgers do.
We found out Sunday that top prospect Gavin Lux was being called up from Triple-A Oklahoma City and on Monday the move was made official, with Lux making his major league debut at second base and in the No. 8 spot in the lineup. He singled, doubled and scored three runs in his debut.
Manager Dave Roberts said Monday that Lux will start at second base against right-handers down the stretch and that he will have an opportunity to make the team’s postseason roster. Enrique Hernandez and Chris Taylor will handle second base versus lefties, with Max Muncy (wrist) presumably being used primarily at first base when he returns.
With Muncy sliding over to first base, that means we’re going to see Cody Bellinger mostly as an outfielder this month. He will be used in center field since he has superior range to A.J. Pollock, who will move to left field. That leaves Joc Pederson, Taylor and Alex Verdugo (oblique) to compete for starts in right field.
But wait, there are changes with the pitching staff, too.
In what has become a yearly tradition in the second half, Kenta Maeda has been moved to the bullpen. Maeda has pitched well in relief the last couple years late in the regular season and postseason and could fill a late-inning role for the Dodgers in the playoffs this year. There were also financial reasons for the move, as he was set to receive significant games started and innings bonuses had he remained in the rotation.
Taking Maeda’s spot in the rotation will be Julio Urias, who was activated from the restricted list Monday after serving a 20-game domestic violence suspension. Urias is slated to throw three innings and/or 45 pitches on Tuesday versus the Dodgers and will continue to be stretched out as a starter in the final weeks, with an eye on hopefully being the team’s fourth starter in the playoffs. The young left-hander certainly is capable of helping out fantasy owners as a starter, although it will be difficult for him to get stretched out sufficiently in such a small window to make a big impact.
National League Quick Hits: Joc Pederson hit two of the Dodgers’ seven home runs Monday against the Rockies before leaving with an abdominal bruise following a collision with the outfield wall on a home-run robbing catch. … Chris Taylor also hit a pair of long balls for the Dodgers on Monday in addition to adding a single. … Rhys Hoskins hit two homers and knocked in three runs to lead the Phillies to a win over the Reds on Monday. … Josh Rojas went 4-for-5 with a homer, double, two RBI and three runs scored on Monday in the Diamondbacks’ rout of the Padres. … Kyle Hendricks pitched six innings of one-run ball Monday against the Mariners. … Christian Yelich connected on his 43rd homer of the season in an extra-innings loss to the Astros on Monday. … Aristides Aquino went 2-for-4 and hit his 15th homer Monday against the Phillies. … Adam Wainwright shut the Giants out on just four hits over seven innings Monday in the Cardinals’ victory. … Yu Darvish (forearm) is tentatively scheduled to make his next scheduled start Saturday in Milwaukee. … Alex Wood is dealing with back issues again and will not make his scheduled start Tuesday. … Adam Eaton will undergo an MRI on his ailing right knee/hamstring.
American League Quick Hits: Mike Minor scattered five hits over 7 1/3 innings and combined with two relievers on a shutout of the Yankees on Monday. … George Springer went 2-for-4 with a walk and hit a go-ahead homer in the 10th inning to give the Astros’ a win on Monday in extra innings. … Carlos Santana went 2-for-5 with a homer and two RBI on Monday in a rout of the White Sox. … Alex Bregman went 4-for-5 with a double and an RBI in a victory on Monday over the Brewers. … Edwin Encarnacion (wrist) is expected to be activated from the injured list on Tuesday. … Astros manager A.J. Hinch said Monday that Kyle Tucker will be a “complement player” for the time being who has to earn more playing time. … Shi Davidi of Sportsnet has reported that pitching prospects Anthony Kay and T.J. Zeuch will be among the Blue Jays’ September call-ups.
