To say Noah Syndergaard has excellent stuff would be an understatement. The New York Mets pitcher, who will be starting tonight’s NL Wild Card game, has the highest average fastball velocity in the league at 98.3 MPH. What’s more, his slider averages 91 MPH, which, as Andrew Baggarly pointed out, is harder than the average four-seam fastball of 86 big league pitchers.
Trying to string together hits off a pitcher of Syndergaard’s caliber can seem overwhelming, but Giants broadcaster and former major league pitcher Mike Krukow recommended some strategies that Giants hitters should employ tonight when joining the Murph and Mac Show Wednesday morning.
“You have to think the opposite way, you can’t get long and try to pull this guy,” Krukow said. “He’s gonna supply the power for you. If you look at where he throws he will pitch in. He’ll knock you down. He’s aggressive to both sides of the plate, he’s got command with that fastball to both sides of the plate, and he can also elevate.”
“I think for the most part you’ve got to be stubborn. You sit away, and you go away.”
Syndergaard was hot and cold in his two appearances against San Francisco this season, giving up four runs in 5 and 2/3 innings on May 1 at Citi Field, while also putting together a dominant performance on Aug. 21, allowing just two hits through eight innings.
Krukow says that the Giants can use their success against Syndergaard in their first appearance as a blueprint on how to take advantage of the Mets ace.
“The big swing of the bat was an opposite field home run off the bat of Hunter Pence. I think that’s how you have to go after this guy, you have to think hard stuff away,” Krukow said. “You have to stay on the fastball, his slider is a pitch you almost can’t even look for. A devastating pitch is a pitch you can look for and still can’t hit, that’s what his slider’s at.”
Of course this is all far easier said than done. Krukow closed by saying that with a pitcher of Syndergaard’s caliber, sometimes you just have to get lucky.
“Hope for mistakes, that’s the deal. Hope he walks a guy or drills a guy, or all of the sudden there’s a 92 hopper that gets through, then somebody hits one off the wall. That’s what you hope for. If you’re only gonna get two runs, you hope your guy can make it stand.”