Before the All-Star break, the Mets got to see if Noah Syndergaard was officially over his strain in his right index finger. He passed the test against the Nationals, allowing just one run over five innings.
Well, more of the same was seen in Syndergaard's second start since coming off the DL as he shut down the Yankees' high-powered offense on Friday night. However, there was one hiccup.
In the middle of the fifth inning, manager Mickey Callaway came out to the mound with a trainer by his side to assess Syndergaard. The SNY broadcast team noticed Syndergaard looking at his throwing hand, and it was noted that his velocity on his pitches had dropped significantly. Syndergaard was pumping 98 and 99-mph fastballs, and they had dipped to around 94 mph.
But Thor swiped clean any doubt on his end in his postgame interview, saying he was simply gassed.
"My velo was a little bit down, but I think that's just a little dead arm," he said. "I think that's mainly because missing six weeks and having another three days off for the All-Star break, but nothing to be alarmed."
So will Syndergaard be ready to go in his next outing, which is slated to be Wednesday against the Padres?
"I'll be ready to go in five days," Syndergaard answered.
Looking back at his start, Syndergaard's night began with a little bit of trouble, as he had two runners on with two outs. But he would work out of that jam to maintain the Mets' three-run lead. The second was much easier with Miguel Andujar the only batter reaching on an infield single.
In the third, the Yankees finally got to Syndergaard as Brett Gardner and Aaron Judge led the inning off with back-to-back singles. Giancarlo Stanton would hit a sac fly to put the Yankees on the board.
That is all the Yankees would accumulate against Thor, though. Nothing came from the Yanks in the fourth or fifth as Syndergaard continued to shut them down.
Overall, Syndergaard went five innings again, allowing one run on eight hits -- all singles -- while striking out four. Manager Mickey Callaway kept the righty to 84 pitches due to fatigue as he eases him back into the rotation.