Noah Syndergaard should pitch to his strengths, Bobby Ojeda says

If the Mets go down, they should go down flamethrowing, says former Mets pitcher and SNY analyst Bob Ojeda says. Ojeda told the Daily News that it's been "frustrating" to watch the Mets shy away from their fastballs in the first two games against the Kansas City Royals.

The Mets lost both games, as starting pitchers Matt Harvey and Jacob deGrom allowed a combined seven runs in 11 innings. Ojeda, who won a pivotal Game 3 in the 1986 World Series after the Mets fell in a 2-0 hole, said that the Mets showed the Royals their arsenal too early.

"You throw 100 mph, and I know everybody needs to throw the offspeed stuff, but be who you are, pitch to your strengths," Ojeda said he'd tell Syndergaard in a hypothetical situation. "Be ready to go to Plan B, even Plan C if they force you to. But don’t start with Plan B."

In the first game of the Series, Harvey threw only 30 fastballs in 80 pitches for a career-low average of 37.5 percent. He told reporters after the game that the fastball "didn't feel all that great." The next night, Jacob deGrom threw his four-seam fastball just 28.7 percent of the time, a sharp decline from his norms. Syndergaard's four-seam fastball has averaged 97.75 miles per hour this year.