Noah Syndergaard Impresses In Guardians Debut
Noah Syndergaard admitted that his time with Los Angeles Angels didn't go how he wanted to and he hasn't been the same since he underwent Tommy John surgery. This cost him a lot of velocity.
"It was unfortunate for myself," Syndergaard said, "I just needed a change of scenery. I was kind of getting in my own head a little bit and it was like pitching with a straight jacket on."
Noah is trying to refind himself as a pitcher but he called being traded to the Cleveland Guardians a "blessing in disguise."
He took the mound in a Guardians uniform for the first time on Monday night as the team opened up a three-game set with the Houston Astors. A fully healthy Astors lineup is up there as one of the best offenses in baseball.
The righty pitched 5.1 innings, only allowed two hits, and issued two walks. He threw 67 inches and 42 of them were strikes. Even though Noah filled up the zone, he didn't strike out a batter. He threw strikes and trusted his defense to do the rest which is exactly what happened.
Unfortunately, Thor's night was cut short after Jermey Pena smoked a groundball back up the middle which caught Noah on his lower leg. The ball has an exit velocity of 101.0 mph.
Syndergaard tried to walk it off and took a few warmup pitches, but he ultimately exited the game in the sixth.
After the game, Terry Francona said that he believes that Noah will be fine but possibly a little sore.
The Guardians don't need Syndergaard to be the ace he once was. Cleveland acquired him to eat innings and fill the void until Shane Bieber and Triston McKenzie can get back on the mound. Anything more than that is a plus.
Syndergaard's first start for the Guardians is exactly what the team needed and it's hard to ask him to do much more.
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