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Harper: Mets' Noah Syndergaard shows off scary slider

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Who is possibly going to hit Noah Syndergaard if he is throwing 95 MPH sliders?

KANSAS CITY — On the elevator after the game, headed out of the stadium, Keith Hernandez raised his eyebrows at the mention of Noah Syndergaard’s brilliance on Tuesday afternoon.

“Some of those sliders,” he said, accentuating the last word for effect. Hernandez paused then for a few seconds, as if considering whether he should admit what he was thinking, and then finally he went ahead with it:

“I couldn’t hit ’em.”

Talk about the ultimate compliment. Hernandez may be a broadcaster now but he is forever the thinking man’s hitter who in his glory days was sure he never faced a pitcher he couldn’t own when it counted most.

Such is the state of Syndergaard’s development, however. One game into his first full season in the big leagues, still only 23 years old, he continues to raise the bar on his potential.

Indeed, his six shutout innings and nine strikeouts in a 2-0 victory over the Royals was proof enough that he has taken another leap forward from the big-game poise and dominance he displayed last October.

For starters Syndergaard seemed to relish the villain treatment he received here from the fans on Tuesday, as they booed him for that purpose pitch to Alcides Escobar in Game 3 of the World Series, even chuckling when he noticed the sound system playing “American Woman” as he took the mound.

“He’s not afraid,” Terry Collins had said before the game, when everyone was still wondering how the kid would handle the hostile environment.

“How do you know?” someone asked the manager.

“He’s 6-7, 250,” he said, and then he smiled. Enough said.

Yes, the size, the hair, the 99-100 mph fastball, Syndergaard is intimidating all right, but let’s face it, in today’s game where you can’t count the number of pitchers throwing in the high 90s anymore, there are so many, velocity doesn’t equate to dominance anymore.

But Syndergaard suddenly has a weapon unlike almost any in baseball, a slider he threw as hard as 95 mph on Tuesday. Even hard throwers usually top out with their slider around 90 mph, and that’s plenty difficult to hit, with its late break and tight spin. At 93-94-95 mph, forget it. Even Syndergaard, who makes a point of downplaying any excitement about the way he has pitched, allowed himself a smile as he talked about a pitch that was mostly unhittable on on Tuesday. “I’ve never thrown a 95-mph slider before,” he said.

The Royals hitters looked like they sure hadn’t seen one before, either. Of Syndergaard’s nine strikeouts, he chalked up seven of them with the slider.

Syndergaard has been known to touch 100 MPH with his fastball.Ed Zurga/Getty Images

Syndergaard has been known to touch 100 MPH with his fastball.

“A slider like that has to be the hardest thing for a hitter,” Collins said. “Especially when you have to be ready for a 98 mph fastball. I remember asking Carlos Beltran about that one time. I said, ‘Who’s the hardest guy to hit’ and he said Matt Harvey. He’s got the fastball and the slider, and when you have to look for both, it’s impossible.”’

In fact, the return of Harvey’s good slider was the talk of spring training, but he couldn’t dominate these Royals in his Opening Night start the way Syndergaard did on Tuesday.

Beyond his stuff, Syndergaard’s poise and toughness was no small factor, either. He was at his best with runners in scoring position, striking out six of the eight hitters he faced in those situations, to go with an easy comebacker and a walk that was semi-intentional.

The sixth inning was a litmus test in so many ways. He should have been out of the inning long before Morales came to bat with the bases loaed.

Travis d’Arnaud was handcuffed by a two-strike slider, and the ball went off the heel of his glove, turning a strikeout into a runner at first. Then the Mets had failed to turn a routine 5-4-3 double plays, as Lucas Duda couldn’t handle a short-hop throw from Neil Walker.

The mistakes could have rattled a young pitcher working on a gem. It happens a lot, even in the big leagues; a frustrated pitcher allows the game to speed up on him, he loses a bit of poise and tends to overthrow.

Neil Walker celebrates his first home run as Mets as his two-run blast in fourth inning gives Syndergaard all the runs he needs.Ed Zurga/Getty Images

Neil Walker celebrates his first home run as Mets as his two-run blast in fourth inning gives Syndergaard all the runs he needs.

Just two years ago, the Mets wondered if Syndergaard would get over that hump when he was struggling in Triple-A, but that seems like ancient history now. After a flare single by Lorenzo Cain put runners at first and third, Syndergaard had the awareness to pitch around Eric Hosmer, who has killed the Mets, confident that he could get Kendrys Morales.

So he attacked him with three straight sliders, and Morales swung through each of them.

“He had a great slider and he executed it,” said d’Arnaud.

The bullpen did the rest, delivering three scoreless innings, and the Mets got out of town feeling good about the split against the world champs, even more confident their highly-touted pitched will be as good as advertised.

Or, considering the slider Syndergaard unleashed on the Royals, maybe better.

Ask Hernandez.

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