Game Two: Noah Syndergaard vs. Stephen Strasburg
These two all-star pitchers are healthy. For now.
Stephen Strasburg is no stranger to the injury list. After suffering from a right shoulder injury and a pinched nerve in his neck in 2018, Strasburg is healthy to start this season.
His opponent, Noah Syndergaard, dealt with a right-hand injury last season and missed nearly two months.
When healthy, Strasburg and Syndergaard are two of the ten or fifteen best pitchers in baseball without question. The problem is that neither of them can sustain a full season of health.
Syndergaard and Strasburg have combined to pitch just 1 season of at least 30 starts since 2015.
However, both are healthy now, and that’s all that matters on Saturday.
Syndergaard has struggled, relatively, against the Nats. Against the Nats, he has a 3.43 ERA with a 1.190 WHIP.
The area in which the one they call Thor really struggles is holding runners. He has allowed 16 stolen bases against the Nats, the most of any team against him.
This appears to be a boom/bust matchup for the Nats offense. If Syndergaard establishes himself early, it will be tough sledding for the Nats.
If Adam Eaton and Trea Turner cause havoc on the basepaths, the Nats will win. If they don’t the Mets have a much better chance to prevail.