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As the six o’clock trade deadline drew near on August 2, Dave Dombrowski finalized a deal with the Los Angeles Angels for starting pitcher Noah Syndergaard.

Syndergaard, perhaps better known as Thor, will make his debut with the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday evening. After spending the first seven years of his big league career with the same organization, he has now changed teams for the second time in the past year. It is surely a big adjustment for the 6’6” right-hander.

Thankfully, Syndergaard will be facing a very familiar opponent in his Phillies debut. He’ll throw the first pitch tonight at 7:05 p.m. EST against the Washington Nationals, a team he has faced more than any other throughout his career.

In 17 starts against Washington, Syndergaard has pitched 97 innings with a 3.15 ERA. He has struck out exactly 100 Nationals batters. 

Those numbers look even better after removing his disastrous start from April 30, 2017. He gave up five earned runs in under two innings that day and left early with a torn Lat muscle. That injury would put him on the IL for the next four months.

Without that start, when he was clearly hampered by injury, Syndergaard has a 2.73 ERA in 95.2 IP against Washington. That’s an All-Star worthy performance. 

Indeed, Thor pitched like a star against the Nationals every single season during his Mets tenure, except for his injury-riddled 2017.

  • 2015: 1.80 ERA, 3.83 FIP, 6.2 IP/start
  • 2016: 3.65 ERA, 2.07 FIP, 5.2 IP/start
  • 2018: 3.00 ERA, 3.83 FIP, 6 IP/start
  • 2019: 2.65 ERA, 3.36 FIP, 6.2 IP/start

Syndergaard’s performance is even more impressive considering how talented that Nats club was during those years.

From 2015-2019, Washington won 450 games, third-most in the National League. They scored 3929 runs, second in the NL behind only the Colorado Rockies.

Those Nationals teams averaged 4.85 runs per game in that five-year span. Against Syndergaard, however, they scored just 34 runs in 17 games.

The tall righty with the flowing blonde locks dominated Washington time and time again. Facing the Nationals seemed to bring out the best in Syndergaard.

Noah Syndergaard throws a pitch for the Los Angeles Angels.

Noah Syndergaard throws a pitch for the Los Angeles Angels.

Philadelphia’s newest starter is no longer the pitcher he was during his heyday in New York. That being said, Washington is no longer the team they once were either. With Juan Soto and Josh Bell shipped off to San Diego, they probably have the weakest lineup in baseball. 

Hopefully, Syndergaard will be able to recapture some of his early-career magic against this weakened but familiar foe. The Phillies have eleven games left against the last-place Nationals this season, and they’ll need to win as many of them as possible.

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