Syndergaard dominant again for surging 51s

While most eyes in Las Vegas were focused on the ring at the MGM Grand on Saturday night, Noah Syndergaard was turning in a heavyweight outing eight miles away under the lights at Cashman Field.

The Mets' top prospect was dominant again in his fourth outing of the season, matching a career high with 10 strikeouts while scattering four hits and two walks over seven innings in Triple-A Las Vegas' 3-0 blanking of Reno.

It was the second straight brilliant performance from the young right-hander. On the heels of seven shutout innings on Monday, Syndergaard (2-0) followed his own lead.

"He continued what he started last time," 51s pitching coach Frank Viola said, "and that's by establishing his fastball, going right after hitters, attacking in the strike zone, getting ahead in the count and putting them away with his curveball. His curveball was probably -- I'd say the last two games -- was the most consistent I've seen it since I've met the young man and seen what he possesses. He's been able to throw it over the plate in pretty much any count, and it just makes him totally dominating."

Syndergaard set the tone in the first. After Reno's Garrett Weber led off with a double, he retired the next three batters. The Mansfield, Texas, native worked around Blake Lalli's two-out walk in the second and followed the same formula as the first after D-backs No. 7 prospect Peter O'Brien's leadoff double in the fourth. In that inning, MLB.com's No. 11 overall prospect struck out the next three Aces.

"This is what he's capable of doing," Viola said. "If it was somebody who's a flash in the pan, you would say different, but this is just the beginning for him. He's got that much more in the tank. I think the big thing is what he went through last year at the Triple-A level. That was the first time he'd struggled really in his life, and I don't know if you can even call it a struggle. It was a learning experience because he'd never been in the position he was in last year, giving up hits, giving up runs. He had to take in a whole lot at 21 years old in the Pacific Coast League."

Pitching again with traffic in the sixth and seventh, Syndergaard didn't flinch. The right-hander pitched around Danny Worth's one-out triple in the sixth by inducing two groundouts to third baseman Danny Muno, then stranded runners at second and third by striking out pinch-hitter Kevin Frandsen to close the seventh.

"You can give up a run in this league and it's not the end of the world," Viola said. "Some other places, you give up a run, it could be a win or lose type of situation. Here, you give up a run in the Pacific Coast League or even a couple of runs, you're still in the ballgame. It's making the pitches you need to make to minimize the damage."

The 22-year-old threw 65 of 100 pitches for strikes and recorded eight groundouts to just one in the air. Viola credited Syndergaard's success to his maturity and ability to learn from issues both on and off the field, including the Mets' decision to have him finish last season in the Minor Leagues.

"A lot of people would have been upset and would have shut it down," Viola said. "I think that just lit a fire under him and made him focus that much more on the job at hand. He came into Spring Training this year and has followed through from the first day of Spring Training on with a new maturity, with a new attitude, with an 'I'll show you what I can be' type of work ethic. You're seeing the results so far."

Syndergaard also made headlines in recent weeks when he was scratched from a start due to a case of food poisoning, then confronted a Twitter user who directed negative comments toward him.

"He understood that it was a mistake getting involved with that Twitter thing, so he learned on the job there," Viola said. "He wants to be the best. He's going to show people he's the best."

The win, Las Vegas' ninth in a row, came two days after Mets No. 3 prospect Steven Matz fanned 12 over seven innings against Reno.

"We've got a little friendly competition building up here amongst ourselves," Viola said of Matz and Syndergaard. "In certain situations, people might say it might be the worst thing for an organization, but in my opinion, I think this is a great scenario because they're pushing each other to be the best they can be. They're trying to better each other every time out."

John Church worked around two hits over 1 1/3 innings and Scott Rice recorded the last two outs in the 51s' third shutout of the season.

Las Vegas handed Syndergaard the lead in the bottom of the first when Travis Taijeron and Cory Vaughn delivered RBI singles. Vaughn added a solo homer in the sixth.

Aces starter Justin Marks (2-3) took the loss after allowing three runs on five hits in six innings.