As a Mets reserve last season, Kirk Nieuwenhuis witnessed Noah Syndergaard’s ascent, including five games in which Syndergaard struck out 10 or more batters during an exceptional rookie season.
In the sixth inning on Sunday, having already struck out twice against Syndergaard, Nieuwenhuis, now a starting outfielder for the Milwaukee Brewers, was completely lost against his former teammate.
Syndergaard started him off with two 90-mile-per-hour changeups, against which Nieuwenhuis caught only air. Then Syndergaard unfurled a 98-m.p.h. heater, leaving Nieuwenhuis frozen with his bat on his shoulder.
That strikeout was Syndergaard’s 10th of the game and represented the third time he had reached double digits this season.