DENVER — To point out that a personal catcher didn’t lead to Noah Syndergaard’s personal best would be putting it too politely even for Thor’s liking.
Even after an exciting, 7-4 victory over the Rockies on Wednesday afternoon at Coors Field, which kept the Mets’ miracle playoff dream as alive as it can be, Syndergaard couldn’t hide his frustration over his mediocre start — and mediocre season — despite getting paired with a preferred battery mate in Rene Rivera.
“Pretty disappointed overall, but at the end of the day, we got the win. That’s all that matters,” said Syndergaard, who allowed four runs in 5 ²/₃ innings and left the game as the losing pitcher before his teammates rallied. “The boys really bailed me out out there, and that’s about it. The only feel I had for a pitch was my fastball.”
As The Post first reported last week, Syndergaard, frustrated by his lack of rhythm with Ramos as well as Ramos’ lack of mobility, lobbied his superiors to pitch to either Rivera or Tomas Nido, only to be spurned. Two straight poor starts with Ramos resulted, and lo and behold, the Mets reversed course and let Syndergaard work with Rivera.
The presence of Rivera, however, didn’t liberate Syndergaard’s slider from its season-long imprisonment as the right-hander made his Coors debut.
“I was throwing 93 mph sliders in my bullpen, but right now there’s a mental block once I get into the game,” Syndergaard said. “It’s been the same issue for the entire year. I don’t know what it is.”
“You know what? He battled,” Mickey Callaway said of Syndergaard. “I know we say that often, but he truly battled today. One out away from throwing a quality start in a tough ballpark.”
Syndergaard did battle in one sense: Without recording a single 1-2-3 inning, he limited the Rockies to one hit with six runners in scoring position. He gave up 10 hits and walked two, though, as he once again couldn’t operate without his full arsenal. His ERA for the season stands at 4.22.
Asked whether he felt extra pressure throwing to Rivera in light of the attention over the matter, Syndergaard said: “No, not at all. Just trying to do my best, to compete. I just didn’t get the results I wanted.”
That has occurred way too often for Syndergaard’s liking this year, which left him down, despite the final score. Getting his way on a catcher didn’t get him where he wanted to be. He has two starts left, probably, to move closer to that better place.
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