Noah Syndergaard can do it all. The Mets wunderkind is the hardest-throwing starting pitcher in the MLB, and it turns out he is pretty handy with the bat, too.
Syndergaard mashed not one, but two home runs tonight against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Vin Scully’s call of Noah Syndergaard’s second home run: “He is Thor.” pic.twitter.com/34pUrt6UDv
— Joe Giglio (@JoeGiglioSports) May 12, 2016
A pitcher belting two home runs in one game is impressive on its own, but Syndergaard did this against one of the best pitchers so far in the 2016 season, Kenta Maeda. Maeda had only given up three longballs before tonight, not to mention this took place in the cavernous Dodger Stadium.
If this seems like a rare feat, that is because it is. Syndergaard is the first pitcher to homer twice in the same game since Micah Owings did so in 2007.
THOR! Noah Syndergaard hits his 2nd HR of the game. He's 1st pitcher with multi-HR game since Micah Owings in 2007. pic.twitter.com/ulXHIaNgBl
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 12, 2016
In terms of franchise history, you would have to go back more than three decades to find a Mets pitcher to accomplish this feat.
Last Met pitcher with 2 homers in a game was Walt Terrell in 1983 at Wrigley.
— David Waldstein (@DavidWaldstein) May 12, 2016
Of course no home run statistic in 2016 would be complete without a reference to the Atlanta Braves’ offensive futility.
Home Runs in 2016:
Mets pitchers: 3
Braves not named Freddie Freeman: 3— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) May 12, 2016
Syndergaard is still pretty good at that pitching thing too, and allowed two earned runs — or, two less than he drove in — over eight innings in a 4-3 Mets win.
Noah Syndergaard threw a pitch 101.4 MPH and hit a HR in the same game.
— Joe Giglio (@JoeGiglioSports) May 12, 2016
All hail, Thor.