Mets' Syndergaard outduels Rox's Gray

Noah Syndergaard outpitched Jon Gray and outhit the Albuquerque Isotopes. It was just that kind of night.

Billed as a pitchers' duel between two of the top young arms in the Minors, it became apparent early Monday evening that only half of the duo had his best stuff.

The top Mets prospect struck out nine batters over seven two-hit innings to pick up his first career complete-game shutout as the Triple-A Las Vegas 51s blanked Jon Gray and the visiting Albuquerque Isotopes, 8-0, in the first game of a doubleheader.

"I felt really good. I had excellent fastball command, probably the best I've had in my entire life," said Syndergaard (1-0), who faced just one batter above the minimum. "This was maybe the best performance I've had in my entire life. I'd never had a complete game, so that was definitely a highlight."

It was the first time on the mound in nine days for the Mets hurler, who missed his scheduled Friday start because of food poisoning, but there were no lingering effects from the stomach bug that had him admitted to the hospital.

While MLB.com's No. 11 prospect was efficient in throwing 62 of a season-high 83 pitches for strikes and not allowing a baserunner to reach second, Gray -- ranked 17th among MLB.com's Top 100 prospects -- was tagged for seven runs on 10 hits and failed to make it out of the fourth inning.

Syndergaard allowed a one-out single to Cristhian Adames in the first and then set down the next 17 Isotopes in order before Adames singled again with one out in the seventh. By contrast, Gray, who struck out three batters, issued two free passes and uncorked a wild pitch, allowed 12 of the 21 batters he faced to reach base and conceded six extra-base hits.

"I've been finetuning my mechanics a little bit," said Syndergaard, who lowered his Pacific Coast League ERA from 4.70 to 2.45. "Against Fresno [on April 19] I had five walks, but I also had some of the best stuff of my entire life. I had that same stuff tonight, but last time I was just a little erratic.

"I was able to command the fastball to both sides of the plate and establish the fastball in when I needed to. That helped my breaking pitches and opened up the outer half of the plate. My curveball was pretty good and I was able to mix it in for a first-pitch strike and get hitters to chase the pitch in the dirt."

It helped earn the Mansfield, Texas native his first shutout in 96 career Minor League appearances, The nine punchouts fell one shy of his personal best, achieved three times and most recently for the 51s in a 6-5 loss to Tacoma last May 10.

Helping his own cause, Syndergaard also singled to right field in the fourth, doubled down the first-base line in the fifth and scored twice. Selected 38th overall in the 2010 Draft, he had been batting .185 (5-for-27) with five singles and three runs scored entering the game.

"It was a lot of fun," said Syndergaard. "I enjoy hitting. I was a pretty good hitter in high school and I was going to go to college as a two-way player. It keeps things more fun. Tonight was definitely the most fun I've had on the mound and at the plate."

Now in his sixth year in the Minors, the 22-year-old is one phone call away from Citi Field. He went 9-7 with a 4.60 ERA in 26 Pacific League starts in 2014, striking out 145 batters over 133 innings and holding opponents to a .293 average. Acquired by the Mets in the seven-player blockbuster deal that sent R.A. Dickey to Toronto in late 2012, Syndergaard has been inconsistent to start the season. He allowed three runs -- two earned -- on seven hits and a walk over four innings in his season debut in Sacramento on April 13 and he walked five batters over 3 2/3 frames against Fresno five days later.

Since that start, Syndergaard made headlines for getting into an online tussle with a fan on Twitter who called him soft for missing his last start.

"I was sick probably around midnight. I tried to work my way through it, but I went to the hospital around 3 a.m. and got out around 6 a.m. so it was a long night," said Syndergaard, who needed an IV drip to combat dehydration. "I've learned that I should stay off social media. Right now I'm off it. I've relinquished the rights to Twitter to my agents because I see that social media is a good attribute to have to interact with fans, but that there will always be some people on there who will attack you."

Monday's bounceback performance was in stark contrast to top Rockies prospect Gray, who has yet to find his rhythm and fell to 0-3 on the season.

The 6-foot-4 right-hander yielded double-digit hits for the second time in as many games after not surrendering more than nine hits in any of his first 34 Minor League games. Gray, selected third overall in the 2013 Draft, gave up six runs against Reno on Opening Day, four more against Tacoma on April 15 and five against the Aces last Monday. In four Pacific Coast League starts, he has allowed 28 baserunners over 14 innings with a .367 average against.

"It was a lot of fun throwing against him," said Syndergaard, who said the Mets have asked him to continue to work on his changeup and improve his consistency before he gets to the Majors. "It was a battle of the top prospects, so that was nice. He's fun to watch, he throws real hard and has good off-speed pitches. It didn't work in his favor tonight, but we all have those days."

In Game 2 of Monday's doubleheader, Alex Castellanos' go-ahead homer in the sixth inning proved to be the difference as the 51s edged the Isotopes, 3-2, to sweep the twinbill. Las Vegas starter Darin Gorski allowed two runs on three hits and two walks while striking out three batters over five innings, but did not factor into the decision.