NASHVILLE -- The guitar-shaped scoreboard at First Horizon Ballpark is plugged into the Statcast data stream, so when Noah Syndergaard's first fastball as a Charlotte Knight registered at 91.3 mph, the thought of a cold gun, refreshing as it may be on the muggiest possible Wednesday evening, could be ruled out.
That left it up to the hitters to inform the viewing audience if his stuff punched above its weight, and the Sounds didn't seem that impressed. Old friend Bobby Dalbec was particularly unmoved, hitting a two-run shot off Syndergaard in the first, and the front end of back-to-back bombs with Oliver Dunn three innings later. Syndergaard ended up giving up five runs on five hits and a walk over four innings before hitting his pitch limit, more or less.
Now, First Horizon played livelier than I'd ever seen it, with a first-pitch temperature of 95 degrees and a humidity reading of "pushing sweat around a forehead with a sweaty arm." The previous time the Knights came to town last August, the two teams combined for one homer over four games. On Wednesday, Charlotte and Nashville combined for six homers over the first four innings, as the ball just kept carrying and carrying, especially to center. Syndergaard was one of a half-dozen pitchers who struggled to take control of an unruly affair that the Sounds ultimately won 14-13 in 11 innings.
Syndergaard also retired eight in a row at one point, going six up, six down through the second and third innings. He still throws at least five pitches, and he still has the control to get the majority of them in the strike zone on a given night. A lot of minor league pitching is not getting yourself in trouble, and he's walked just two batters over 19⅓ innings this season.
But in terms of power (his average fastball sat shy of 92) and the ability to miss bats (just three whiffs on 61 pitches), what he showed on Wednesday didn't look any different from his 2023 form, which was the last time he pitched. That year, he gave up a 6.50 ERA and allowed a whopping 22 homers over 88 ⅔ innings for the Dodgers and Guardians, with the latter team releasing him at the end of August.
Speaking on Saturday in Pittsburgh, Josh Barfield said that Syndergaard is "definitely a guy who if he pitches well, he could put his name in consideration for if there's a need here." Based on his first look in front of advanced hitters, the need would have to be great.
Granted, there's a chance that Syndergaard could ramp up further -- Johnny Cueto made an unimpressive org debut with Charlotte in Nashville three seasons ago, only to be a godsend to the rotation for the remainder of the season -- but if it doesn't, then he's a lot closer to an Odrisamer Despaigne.
Despaigne technically pitched for the White Sox, but in such a fashion that generated an all-time euphemism from Rick Renteria. "As far as we are concerned, Despaigne is here until he's not," Renteria said after Despaigne's third start. The White Sox released him a day later.
Nashville 14, Charlotte 13 (11 innings)
- Will Robertson homered twice during a 3-for-5 night.
- Bryan Ramos went 2-for-4 with a double and a strikeout.
- Blake Sabol made his org debut, going 2-for-5 with a homer, double and two strikeouts.
- Noah Syndergaard: 4 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 3 HR, 42 of 61 pitches for strikes.
- Wikelman González: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 6 of 16 pitches for strikes.
- Jairo Iriarte: 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 WP, 10 of 23 pitches for strikes.
Birmingham 3, Montgomery 1
- Rikuu Nishida went 3-for-3 with a walk and his 30th stolen base.
- William Bergolla was 0-for-3 with a sac bunt.
- Ryan Galanie, 1-for-4 with a K.
- Sam Antonacci was 1-for-2 with two walks and a stolen base.
- Wilfred Veras, 0-for-3 with a K and an HBP.
- Shane Murphy: 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K, 39 of 60 pitches for strikes.
Notes:
*The Barons have won 11 in a row.
Winston-Salem 8, Aberdeen 4
- Jeral Perez went 1-for-4 with his 16th homer and a walk.
- Braden Montgomery was 2-for-4 with a double and a strikeout.
- Samuel Zavala was 1-for-4 with two strikeouts.
- Lyle Miller-Green wore the golden sombrero.
- Ryan Burrowes, 0-for-2 with two walks and a stolen base.
- Lucas Gordon made his first start since June 20: 1.2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 24 of 39 pitches for strikes. He left the game having hit his pitch limit.
Carolina 9, Kannapolis 3
- George Wolkow was 1-for-3 with an HBP and a stolen base.
- Abraham Nuñez was 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
- Grant Umberger: 3.1 IP, 10 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 48 of 65 pitches for strikes.
- Pierce George: 1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K, 13 of 22 pitches for strikes.
