Noah Syndergaard made his debut on the mound for the Cleveland Guardians on Monday against the Houston Astros.
Pitching 5.1 innings, Syndergaard only gave up one run on two hits.
After the game, Syndergaard provided an evaluation of his pitching performance in his first start for the Guardians.
“I felt like my performance was pretty good,” said Syndergaard. “Mechanics felt pretty automatic. I wasn’t really thinking about what I was doing, just having certain cues and let athleticism take over.”
Syndergaard Emphasizes the Mental Aspects of Pitching
Of course, success in baseball can often be related to the mental game and Syndergaard was asked about how important it was not to be thinking too much on the mound.
Syndergaard responded by saying that thinking too much on the mound was a challenge he has dealt with throughout his career.
“That’s just been my achilles heel for most of my career,” said Syndergaard.
In addition to discussing not thinking too much on the mound, Syndergaard talked about the positive experience he had working with Guardians catcher Bo Naylor.
“I really enjoyed throwing to Bo for the first time,” said Syndergaard. “I really look forward to building that relationship with him and the other catchers on this team. All in all, it was just really fun and encouraging to get out there, but we just didn’t come up with a victory.”
Francona Discusses Syndergaard’s Guardians Debut on Mound
After the game, in the post-game press conference, Guardians Manager Terry Francona provided an evaluation of Syndergaard’s performance.
“For the most part he threw strikes,” said Francona. “He used the whole ball park at times, but you know what, okay, he got them out.”
Francona also noted that they really wanted to allow Syndergaard to be athletic on the mound and not think too much so that he could gain confidence.
“And we tried to stay out of the way because you know I think we’re trying to let him be athletic and feel good about himself,” said Francona. “So there is time to dig in on stuff, but really just wanted to watch him pitch.”
Who is Noah Syndergaard?
As Syndergaard has just joined the Guardians, many Guardians fans may not know much about him.
So let’s talk a little bit about Syndergaard’s career.
Syndergaard is 30 years old and very tall. He is listed at 6’6″. Syndergaard is from Mansfield, Texas where he attended Mansfield Legacy High School.
After his senior year of high school, he was drafted in the first round of the MLB Draft by the Toronto Blue Jays.
Syndergaard has pitched in the MLB for 8 seasons beginning his MLB career with the New York Mets in 2015.
With the Mets, Syndergaard had his best years early in his career during the 2016 and 2018 baseball seasons.
However, in 2015, Syndergaard, as a rookie pitched in the World Series getting the Mets only win against the Kansas City Royals in Game Three.
Throughout his career Syndergaard has had success going 58-45 with a 3.65 ERA and while a New York Met was nicknamed “Thor”.
Although Syndergaard has been a very good pitcher throughout his career, he was struggling this year with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Before being traded to the Guardians, Syndergaard’s 2023 record was 1-4 and he had a 7.16 ERA.
Breaking Down Syndergaard’s Performance and Recap of Game
Overall, Syndergaard threw 68 total pitches in his first game as a Guardian. Out of the 68 pitches, he threw 43 strikes. He also walked two batters.
Due to getting hit in the calf with a batted ball, Syndergaard left the game with the Guardians leading 2-0 with one out in the 6th.
After Syndergaard left the game, the Astros scored four runs in the sixth, one in the seventh, and two runs in the bottom of the eighth and the Guardians lost 7-3.
For the game, the Guardians scored two runs in the second inning and added a run in the top of the ninth.
Leading the way for the Guardians was Gabriel Arias who was 3-4 on the night.
Steven Kwan, Bo Naylor, and Myles Straw all went 1-3 for the game and they each had an RBI.
The Guardians play the second game of the three game series on Tuesday night at 8pm EST.
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