LOS ANGELES — The nickname Noah Syndergaard had when his fastball approached 100 mph as a younger New York Mets pitcher no longer fits. The Dodgers right-hander still has the Nordic-sounding name and looks, but he is a mere shadow of the intimidator they called Thor, after the hammer-wielding god of Norse mythology.
Syndergaard’s four-seam fastball averaged just 91.0 mph on Friday night, down nearly 2 mph from this season’s average of 92.9 mph and well below his pre-Tommy John surgery average of 98.0 mph. His sinking fastball averaged 91.4 mph, down from his average of 92.5 mph.
But his hammer-less toolbox wasn’t empty. Syndergaard used a highly effective 86-mph changeup to fashion a quality start, one of the few Dodgers highlights in an eventual 8-2 loss to the Chicago Cubs before a crowd of 52,298 in Chavez Ravine.
