Noah Syndergaard had his best yet performance with the Los Angeles Angels, pitching eight innings in a 5–3 win over the Texas Rangers at Angels Stadium on Tuesday, improving their record to 27–17 for the season. The Angels remain in second place in the American League West one game behind the Houston Astros.
Syndergaard had his worst professional outing last week against these same Rangers in Texas. He was relieved in the first inning after only two outs—giving up four runs after leading by three in the first inning.
That defeat by the Texas native led to the Angels getting swept by the Rangers in the three-game series, giving up a total of 23 runs.
“I kind of had a chip on my shoulder,” said Syndergaard. “I pitched with some attitude and tempo and just tried to get the guys involved as much as possible. The defense was stellar tonight.”
Syndergaard allowed just one run on four hits while striking out five to improve his record to 4–2 this season, along with a 3.08 ERA and a WHIP of 1.08 in seven starts this season.
The performance was Syndergaard’s longest outing since recovering from Tommy John surgery in late March 2020, limiting him to two games with the Mets last year.
Syndergaard, nicknamed “Thor,” is a native of Mansfield Texas who was drafted 38th overall in 2010 by the Toronto Blue Jays out of Mansfield Legacy High School and given a $600k signing bonus, before being traded in December 2012 to the New York Mets—making his first MLB start in 2015.
He received just one scholarship offer as a late-bloomer with a huge growth spurt during his final year of high school to 6‘ 4“—ultimately reaching 6’ 6” and 240 pounds.
Along with weight training, Syndergaard improved to an 11–3 record as a senior and was named the 2010 Player of the Year by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
With an expiring contract in 2021, the Mets were willing to match a qualifying offer by the Angels, but Syndergaard decided to sign the one-year $21 million deal on November 17, 2021—becoming the highest season earning pitcher in Angels history, breaking Jered Weaver and C. J. Wilson’s deals.
“He wanted to prove a point after his last start against these guys,” said Angels manager Joe Maddon. “I thought he was outstanding. He was very aggressive and assertive. I think he was just on a mission tonight.”
Syndergaard threw 73 of 93 pitches for strikes for his career best strike rate of 78.5 percent. He did not once throw three balls in a count against any Ranger, which is a first in 128 career games pitched.
The Rangers were hitless until Adolis Garcia sent a single to right field in the fifth inning. Syndergaard maintained the shutout by getting Nathaniel Lowe to ground out, and ended the inning striking out Andy Ibanez.
Syndergaard gave up a leadoff homer to Jonah Heim in the eight inning, ending his shutout. He would close out the inning before two Angels relievers, Aaron Loup and Raisel Iglesias, closed out the game in the ninth inning.
