LOS ANGELES – Noah "Thor" Syndergaard hit two homers off Kenta Maeda and the New York Mets stunned the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-3 on Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium.
Syndergaard struck first, like a blow to the gut, when he hit a solo shot to the left field pavilion in the top of the third inning. Syndergaard's bomb was his first of the season and just the second of his career.
Corey Seager crushed a Syndergaard slider in the bottom half of the inning that temporarily tied the game at 1-1.
"It was a little more easier," Seager said of facing Syndergaard a second time, after seeing him last fall in the NLDS. "Seeing a guy for the first time is tough, especially when he's that caliber."
An inning later, Yasmani Grandal took Thor yard as the Dodgers built a 2-1 lead over the National League pennant winners.
The game turned like a thunder-cloud from heaven in the top half of the fifth as the Norse god unloaded his second home run of the night, this time a three-run blast to left-centerfield.
"My immediate thought was 'this is a dream, it's not real' I don't think I've ever hit two home runs when I played little league," Syndergaard said after the game. "To be able to hit two home runs in a Major League ballgame, especially with a pitcher like Maeda up there, it's an awesome experience."
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Thor's towering blast was the first multi-homer game by a pitcher since Micah Owings (now an outfielder) did it in 2007, and the first time a Mets pitcher did it since Walt Terrell in 1983.
"A pitcher hitting two home runs out of the ballpark is probably something you won't see again all year," Dodgers' manager Dave Roberts said. "I was in disbelief and outside of those two pitches to Syndergaard, it's a 2-to-nothing win."
Maeda served up both bombs to his counterpart, and ironically, Syndergaard showed bunt, unable to advance the runners before swinging away at a 80MPH slider one pitch later.
"I had to finish him off with two strikes, and I was unable to do that," Maeda said through a translator. "Basically, I was unable to execute well on that at-bat."
Maeda suffered his second loss of the season allowing four runs on six hits with three strikeouts in five innings. Maeda's three punchouts snapped a streak of 10 consecutive games by Dodgers' starters of at least six or more strikeouts, a franchise record.
"Overall, they are a well-balanced team," Maeda said of the Mets. "I was able to get the outs, but those two home runs hurt. It was a regrettable result."
Syndergaard (3-2) got the win, allowing two runs on six hits with six strikeouts in eight strong innings.
"I felt real comfortable and real strong," Syndergaard said. "Hopefully, I can carry it over into my next start."
Jeurys Familia allowed a run in the ninth, but still earned his MLB-leading 12th save of the season.
Players of the Game:
Noah Syndergaard: Two home runs, 4 RBI, 2 runs with 6 SO in 8 IP.
Corey Seager: Home run.
Yasmani Grandal: Home run.
Three Takeaways:
1. Thunder Struck: The Norse god, Thor, otherwise known as right-hander Noah Syndergaard did it all on Wednesday. The long-haired flame thrower struck out six and had two home runs off Kenta Maeda as he was responsible for all of the Mets' runs.
Never has the nickname "Thor" been more appropriate. 2 HR tonight for P Noah Syndergaard. (via @MLB) pic.twitter.com/9tXCe1h1s3 — Baseball Tonight (@BBTN) May 12, 2016
2. Strikeout Streak Snapped: The Los Angeles Dodgers starting rotation had a 10-game streak of six or more strikeouts snapped by Kenta Maeda's three-strikeout performance on Wednesday night. The 10 consecutive games with at least six strikeouts by starters was the longest streak in franchise history.
Kenta Maeda struck out 3 in his 5+ IP, snapping Dodgers' franchise record streak (since 1913) of 10 straight games w/6+ K by their starter — Eric Stephen (@truebluela) May 12, 2016
3. Flying Solo: The Dodgers only two runs of the night came on solo shots by Corey Seager and Yasmani Grandal off of Noah Syndergaard.
Watch it fly, @YazmanianDVL08. pic.twitter.com/3obS2STs9C — Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) May 12, 2016
Up Next:
Mets (21-12): Soon to be 43-year-old Bartolo Colon takes the mound on Thursday just six days after he hit the first home run of his career in San Diego as New York looks to take three of four in the series.
Dodgers (17-17): Los Angeles counters with ace Clayton Kershaw in the finale of the four-game series at 7:10 PM.
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