The New York Mets plan to match Noah Syndergaard with catcher René Rivera for their game against the Rockies on Wednesday.
Last week, reports came out that New York Mets right-hander Noah Syndergaard had an issue on the mound. Apparently, Thor prefers not to throw to catcher Wilson Ramos. He expressed this issue to general manager Brodie Van Wagenen, as he reportedly would rather pitch to Tomas Nido or René Rivera.
Van Wagenen didn’t give into Syndergaard’s preference, however. He had him pitch to Ramos on Friday against the Dodgers. It seemed like Thor was right in this situation, as he went 5.0 innings, allowing five hits and four earned runs in the midst of the 9-2 defeat. Now, the Mets will have Rivera catch the 2015 All-Star for their game in Colorado on Wednesday.
Anthony DiComo of mlb.com writes, “New York tentatively plans to pair Syndergaard with backup catcher René Rivera on Wednesday, multiple sources said, with hopes that a new batterymate will allow Syndergaard to find his top form at hitter-friendly Coors Field. Syndergaard owns a 2.22 ERA throwing to backups Rivera and Tomas Nido this year, vs. a 5.20 mark pitching to Wilson Ramos.”
Thor believes it’s an issue with himself and his comfort level, with Ramos not being the main problem. At the end of the day, the numbers don’t lie. Syndergaard does indeed perform better without Ramos behind the plate. We’ll see if that continues on Wednesday in the series finale against the Rockies.
The Mets sit 4.0 games back in the National League Wild Card race. They need every win they can get from this point on. Their current six-game road trip is huge, with three games against the Rockies and three against the Cincinnati Reds.
