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Major League Baseball named Noah Syndergaard the National League Player of the Week after he allowed just one earned run in 14.1 innings last week, good for a 0.63 ERA. He joined Vladimir Guerrero Jr. as the week’s two award winners for the American and National Leagues.
In two starts against the White Sox and Pirates, the big righty struck out fourteen batters while walking just two. He went 1-0, and the Mets won both of the games he started. The game against Chicago was particularly notable since it was his last start before the trade deadline and his name had been linked to multiple trade rumors at the time.
It has been a tough year for Syndergaard, who got off to a shaky start but has looked much better since the All-Star break. His ERA is now under 4.00 for the year, and he is sporting a minuscule 1.78 ERA post-All-Star break. He certainly looks like he has returned to form, which would be good news for the Mets as they try to make an improbable run to the playoffs in the final two months of the season.
Syndergaard was not the only Met who received recognition for their performance during the past week. Marcus Stroman’s debut didn’t go as well as he had hoped, but he made a fantastic play that kept his team in the game. His barehanded throw home was named Play of the Week by Major League Baseball.
Stro knows defense. pic.twitter.com/rR6IjI5m98
— MLB (@MLB) August 3, 2019
It’s so nice it needs to be seen twice, this time from another angle.
Usually in the NL, "helping yourself" means driving in a run
— SNY (@SNYtv) August 4, 2019
But we can make an exception for the great play @MStrooo6 made last night. He's new here, after all pic.twitter.com/C1oxdEvwJ5
Although it ultimately did not win, according to Tim Healey of Newsday, Jeff McNeil’s Spider-Man catch into the netting in Chicago was also considered for the honor.