WASHINGTON — Lat’s all, folks.
The Mets’ battered, injury-plagued season kept rolling Sunday afternoon, when Noah Syndergaard walked off the mound at Nationals Park in the second inning nursing his right lat muscle.
According to the team, Syndergaard departed with a “possible lat strain” and was headed to New York for an MRI exam, only adding injury to the insult of a 23-5 loss to the Nationals that prevented the Mets from completing a three-game sweep of their NL East rival.
When a reporter prefaced a question to Terry Collins by saying he looked upset in the dugout after Syndergaard departed, the manager erupted.
“You think?” Collins snapped. “What do you think?”
Syndergaard declined to undergo an MRI exam after he was scratched from his Thursday start with right biceps soreness. And general manager Sandy Alderson later put the responsibility on Syndergaard for avoiding the test.
“I can’t tie him down and throw him in the tube,” Alderson said Saturday.
After Sunday’s brutal loss, Alderson wasn’t second-guessing himself for not gathering a posse and forcing Syndergaard into the MRI tube.
“We asked him how he felt and he said he felt fine, he could have pitched on turn,” Alderson said. “We took him at face value, but he also threw a bullpen [session] and felt fine. On the basis of that input as well as his own comments, he was good to go.
“The recommendation [to skip him Thursday] was made by the doctor, it was precautionary and we felt strongly that he was fine. We made sure that he threw again before he went out so we could confirm that and that’s what happened. Would the MRI have disclosed a lat issue or reaffirmed some concern about the bicep? We’ll never know.”
Alderson said he spoke to Syndergaard before the pitcher departed for New York, and there was no discussion about the previous decision to skip the MRI.
“We didn’t get into that, I didn’t think that was necessary at that particular time,” Alderson said. “I think he understands there is something going on now that he needs to get examined.”
The Nationals hammered Syndergaard in the first inning, sending 10 batters to the plate and scoring five runs. But Syndergaard’s fastball was popping, hitting 99 and 100 mph several times. From catcher Rene Rivera’s perspective, it was possible Syndergaard was too amped up.
“He was throwing everything about 100 mph,” Rivera said. “I think after that [Friday] bullpen [session,] he was feeling really good and looking forward to this game.”
After delivering a pitch to Bryce Harper with one out in the second, Syndergaard was in obvious discomfort and left the game. Replays indicated Syndergaard also might have felt something on his penultimate pitch and still decided to continue.
There was no hint between the first and second innings, according to Rivera, that Syndergaard had a physical issue.
“I thought between innings he was feeling good,” Rivera said. “I didn’t see any body language, anything.”
The Mets began spring training with seven starting pitchers for five spots, but that number was reduced by the end of camp when Steven Matz was placed on the disabled list with elbow discomfort and Seth Lugo sustained a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament. Both pitchers have been rehabbing in Port St. Lucie, Fla., but are still weeks away from potentially returning.
Sean Gilmartin replaced Syndergaard and pitched 2 ²/₃ innings in which he allowed five earned runs on seven hits. Anthony Rendon’s second homer of the afternoon, a three-run blast in the fourth, turned the game into a 10-4 runaway. Rendon finished 6-for-6 with three homers and 10 RBIs to lead the Nationals’ 23-hit rampage.
Catcher Kevin Plawecki was summoned to pitch in the seventh, with the Nationals leading 19-5, and allowed homers to Bryce Harper, Adam Lind and Rendon in the eighth to up the total to 23 runs, the second most the Mets have ever allowed in a game, coming up short of the 26 surrendered in a 1985 loss to the Phillies.
“This is one of those games you want to forget,” Rivera said.