DETROIT — Noah Syndergaard’s fastball remains crisp, but the rest of his game is suffering from an efficiency crisis.
The Mets righty has struggled to finish off hitters, raising his pitch count and the odds he will make a mistake. On Friday, he slogged through Motown without much help from his lineup and gave the Mets a third straight uninspiring performance in a 4-3 loss to the Tigers at Comerica Park.
“Right now I think I am trying to be too fine with all my pitches, trying to basically play darts out there with Rene [Rivera] as opposed to trusting my mechanics and just delivering a quality pitch,” Syndergaard said on a night when he surrendered three runs in the fourth to flush his team’s 2-1 lead against Justin Verlander.
The Mets (56-53) fell two games behind in the race for the NL’s second wild card, after failing to follow Thursday’s victory with a win. Their last consecutive victories came July 6-7.
In his third straight start in which he threw at least 110 pitches but couldn’t get past the sixth inning, Syndergaard allowed four earned runs on seven hits with two walks and seven strikeouts. He has been pitching with a small bone spur in his right elbow since at least June.
“It’s been a battle,” manager Terry Collins said. “He’s had to work very hard — harder than probably he has since he’s been a major league pitcher. Even though it’s tough, I think it’s good for him.
“If you are going to learn how to pitch at this level, you have got to learn how to pitch through tough times, and right now he is going through tough times. He got ahead of a lot of guys but couldn’t make the pitch to get them out.”
About the only positive Friday for Syndergaard was his perseverance to get through the sixth inning as he approached 100 pitches following a leadoff walk by Victor Martinez and single by J.D. Martinez. Syndergaard then got three straight outs, finishing the night at 112 pitches.
Syndergaard (9-6) was spanked in the fourth, allowing three runs on four hits to put the Mets in a 4-2 hole. Victor Martinez hit a two-run homer before J.D. Martinez doubled and scored on James McCann’s single.
“I went out there in that fourth inning just thinking in my head: ‘Don’t give up the lead,’ ” Syndergaard said. “It’s just like trying to tell someone not to think about a pink elephant. It just doesn’t work out like that. I dropped the ball mentally. That can’t happen.”
Miguel Cabrera’s single leading off the inning had started the rally. and Victor Martinez pounced on a changeup that was left over the plate. The blast was just the eighth allowed by Syndergaard this season.
Kelly Johnson’s two-run homer in the fourth had given the Mets a 2-1 lead against Verlander. After Jay Bruce walked and James Loney was retired for the second out, Johnson cleared the right-field fence for his second homer in as many games. On Thursday, he homered at Yankee Stadium to give the Mets their first run in a 4-1 victory.
The Mets wasted an opportunity in the second, when McCann’s passed ball sent runners to second and third with two outs and Rivera was retired to end the threat.
Syndergaard allowed two stolen bases in the first inning to Ian Kinsler, helping the Tigers score their first run. Kinsler singled to lead off and stole second and third, then scored on Cabrera’s ground out.
“I feel like I have the stuff to go out there and dominate every team that opposes me,” Syndergaard said. “But it just hasn’t been clicking recently.”