After Noah Syndergaard pitched five scoreless innings in his major-league debut before allowing three runs in the sixth and losing to the Cubs, the media wondered if he had been rattled by Daniel Murphy failing to throw out Kris Bryant in the third. Actually, Syndergaard got out of that inning, even though he had to throw an additional 18 pitches. If anything rattled Thor, it might have been the realization that he might have to throw a shutout to have a chance at winning.
The Mets are last in the National League in runs scored and batting average since April 24.