Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard wanted to make statement with first pitch

NEW YORK — When Noah Syndergaard said he had a “few tricks up my sleeve,” a day before Game 3 of the World Series, he wasn’t referring to anything deceptive.

That trick was a first pitch fastball that sailed high and inside on Royals leadoff hitter Alcides Escobar, sending the shortstop to the ground to open the Mets’ 9-3 victory in Game 3 of the World Series on Friday.

Escboar had developed a habit of swinging at the first pitch he saw in a game, and for some reason, Syndergaard had taken offense.

Syndergaarrd was asked about the pitch three times in a press conference with reporters, and he didn’t rely on the standard baseball untruth, “It got away from me.” Syndergaard entered the game knowing the location of his first pitch. So did catcher Travis d’Arnaud.

“My first words I said to Travis when we walked into the clubhouse today was, ‘How do you feel about high and tight for the first pitch, and a curveball for the second one?” Syndergaard said. “So I feel like I really made a statement to start the game off.”

And that statement was?

“You guys can’t dig in and get too aggressive because I’ll come in there.”

Syndergaard struck out Escboar but if a tone was set it came later in his appearance. The Royals scored one in the first and two in the second.

Then Syndergaard settled down, retired 12 consecutive Royals at one point, and helped the Mets take a stand. Had the Royals won Game 3, history says the event would have been all but over. No team has ever overcome a 3-0 deficit to win a World Series.

Syndergaard, the rookie nicknamed “Thor,” whipped an orange-towel waving crowd from a fever pitch to frenzy with his first toss.

“I mean, I certainly wasn’t trying to hit the guy, that’s for sure,” Syndergaard said. “I didn’t want them getting too comfortable.”

Told that Royals players were expressing anger over the pitch, Syndergaard answered back.

“If they have a problem with me throwing inside, then they can meet me 60 feet, 6 inches away,” he said. “I have no problem with that.”

Syndergaard entered the game not having pitched in 12 days. He had struck out nine Cubs in Game 2 of the NLCS but was facing a Royals team that doesn’t strike out much and got good swings against the previous two power righties they faced, Matt Harvey and Jacob deGrom.

Syndergaard wasn’t perfect, but he pitched confidently have the Mets had gave him the lead.

That happened in the third inning. The Royals had gotten good swings off Syndergaard in the first two innings.

In the second, the Royals strung together four singles and a sacrifice bunt to scored two runs – and could have been more if Alex Gordon hadn’t been tagged out at third on Alex Rios’ single, a call that was reversed on replay.

After Escobar singled, Syndergaard faced Ben Zobrist with two outs. Had Zobrist reached, Mets manager Terry Collins said he would have stayed with Syndergaard to face Lorenzo Cain. And that might have been it.

With left-handed hitting Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas up next, lefty Jonathon Niese would have brought it.

But Zobrist popped out, the first of the 12 straight Syndergaard retired.

As that was happening, Curtis Granderson hit a two-run homer to give the Mets a 4-3 lead, and they tacked on another in the fourth.

Syndergaard ran into a spot of trouble in the sixth. After Lorenzo Cain and Hosmer struck out, Moustakas singled and Syndergaard issued walks to Salvador Perez and Alex Gordon.

The Mets lead was 5-3 when Alex Rios, who had delivered an RBI single in the second, stepped in. Rios grounded out to shortstop.

Syndergaard had faced his last batter. The Mets added four in the sixth and were safely ahead when the bullpen took over.

Now, it’s a series. The Royals came to New York hoping to put more pressure on the Mets with a Game 3 triumph. But from the first pitch, Syndergaard did what he could to make sure that didn’t happen.

This story was originally published October 30, 2015 at 11:02 PM with the headline "Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard wanted to make statement with first pitch."