Mets to start rookie Noah Syndergaard in Game 2 of NLCS

That day Syndergaard gave up three runs on six hits and four walks while striking out six in 5 1/3 innings, but, given the circumstances, it seems unfair to give that outing much weight going into this game. He threw only 17 pitches in an inning of work, but did warm up multiple times earlier in the game when deGrom struggled. “I (asked him), ‘How you doing?’ He said, ‘Okay.’ I said, ‘Are you stiff?’ He said, ‘Terry, it was 35 degrees out there, we’re all stiff.’ I said, ‘No, how are you?’ He said, ‘I’m fine.’ He said, ‘Now I suck, but I’m fine.’ And that’s him”.

Syndergaard and Matz are the third and fourth rookie pitchers to start for the Mets in a postseason game in franchise history, joining Gary Gentry and John Maine.

Pardon the pun, but the name Familia has become familiar, and for the Mets in their postseason run it has been getting the ball to the closer. Let’s talk strategic options first, then sprinkle in a few stats, then address the human element. According to the forecast on weather.com, the temperature in Flushing is expected to be 43 degrees at first pitch and feel like 38. Now he will have to start one game.

He struck out Jorge Soler with a 96 slider for the second out in the ninth. During this stretch of success he has been able to throw a minimum amount of pitches and that has helped with his ability to go the extra route. But after talking to the hard-throwing right-hander Saturday, Collins gave him the nod for Sunday. It is a matter of how many innings he gets from Noah Syndergaard, and of course how many runs the Mets have, to preserve a lead in the late innings. Collins said Niese has suffered a recent death in the family.

Additionally, with lackluster performances recently, both Tyler Clippard and Addison Reed (who had been serving as the primary setup men) have fallen out of favor for the moment, leaving the Mets without an adequate replacement for Familia if it comes to it. He hopes that Syndergaard will go deep and make a decision when the time comes.

“The physical toll really hasn’t bothered me at all, but the mental side of it and all the energy you burn leading up to the game does have a little bit of effect”.

“I was a little juiced up”, he said. “My body and my arm have never felt better”. Arrieta will oppose Syndergaard Sunday night.