Syndergaard nearly cycles, 51s extend streak

Noah Syndergaard had already proven he was ready for a promotion to New York, but his effort on Thursday won't hurt.

The Mets' No. 1 prospect, recently rumored to be in line for the team's next spot start, pitched eight strong innings and fell a triple shy of hitting for the cycle as Triple-A Las Vegas won its 14th straight game in an 8-2 victory at Albuquerque on Thursday afternoon.

Syndergaard (3-0) struck out eight and held the Isotopes to a pair of runs on five hits without a walk over eight innings, lowering his ERA to 1.82. His 19-inning scoreless streak, dating back to April 18, was finally snapped in the sixth inning when Tim Smalling poked an RBI single up the middle for the Isotopes' first run. 

At the plate, Syndergaard, MLB.com's No. 11 prospect, was equally impressive, going 3-for-4 with a homer, two RBIs and a pair of runs scored in the best day of his career, offensively.

Syndergaard's effort on Thursday helped the 51s extend their winning streak, which began on April 23, to 14 games and comes a day after Newsday reported the right-hander is "next in line" to receive a promtion to the Majors when the Mets have a need for a starter.

Las Vegas has swept three opponents during the run, with Syndergaard adding a third victory to those he earned on April 27 and May 2. In both of those starts, the Texas native tossed seven scoreless frames, striking out nine and 10, respectively. He's now 3-0 with a 1.82 ERA and 34 strikeouts in 29 2/3 innings.

Syndergaard, who had just 20 career at-bats entering Thursday, doubled and scored in the third, hit a two-run homer in the fourth off Albuquerque starter Shane Carle, singled with two outs in the sixth and missed the cycle in the eighth when he took a called third strike in his final at-bat. His double hit off the 428-foot sign in left-center and his home run sailed over the 400-foot mark in center field. 

The huge day at the plate inflated his numbers to .455 (5-for-11) with two doubles -- the starter's other memorable day at the plate came on April 27, when he went 2-for-3 with a double and two runs scored to beat Albuquerque.

Just proud to be part of this @LasVegas51s team! 14 straight and a true team effort! #LGM

- Noah Syndergaard (@Noahsyndergaard) May 7, 2015

The 6-foot-6 right-hander, who bats left-handed, had just seven hits in his career entering the game, six of them being singles. Last season at Las Vegas, the 22-year-old was 4-for-24 with 11 strikeouts at the plate. The reigning Pacific Coast League Pitcher of the Week doesn't always bat in his games for Las Vegas as, according to PCL rules, pitchers only hit when both teams are National League affiliates and both managers agree to have their pitchers hit.

On the mound, Syndergaard delivered as expected, throwing 70 of his 95 pitches for strikes on Thursday. He's allowed two earned runs or fewer in all five of his starts this season after going 9-7 with a 4.60 ERA and 145 strikeouts in 133 innings at Las Vegas last year, setting career highs in wins, innings pitched and strikeouts. The right-hander has been a Futures Game All-Star both of the past two seasons.

Syndergaard aside, Las Vegas managed to score in five of nine innings on Thursday, with leadoff man Darrell Ceciliani going 2-for-5 with two RBIs and a triple. Eric Campbell, Brandon Allen, Travis Taijeron and Dan Rohlfing also knocked in runs.

Carle (0-1) was charged with six runs on nine hits and a walk, striking out three in six frames to suffer his first loss. Major League veteran Rex Brothers struck out one in the ninth in his 10th appearance of the season.