NEW YORK - When he was asked Thursday about how he planned to deal with Royals’ leadoff hitter Alcides Escobar’s penchant for swinging at the first pitch, Mets’ pitcher Noah Syndergaard said he had “a few tricks up my sleeve that I’ll be able to break out tomorrow night.”
When he made good on that in an appalling and dangerous way by throwing near Escobar’s head, it instantly escalated the intensity of the competition in a World Series Game 3 the Mets were desperate to win given the improbability they’d be able to become the first team among 24 in baseball history to rally from a three games to none deficit.