CINCINNATI (AP) — Noah Syndergaard won for the second time in three starts since being traded to Philadelphia, and Edmundo Sosa drove in three runs as the Phillies beat the Cincinnati Reds 4-3 on Monday night.
Syndergaard (7-8) allowed three earned runs through seven innings. The 29-year-old right-hander was acquired from the Los Angeles Angels at the trade deadline.
“Good delivery, just attacking the zone, that’s really it,” Phillies interim manager Rob Thomson said. “His stuff keeps getting better. He gave up some hits, but he really limited the damage. Sosa made two tremendous plays.”
Michael Papierski put the Reds ahead with a two-run single in the second, but Syndergaard allowed just three hits over the next five innings.
Syndergaard threw 24 first-pitch strikes to 28 batters with only 16 balls.
“A scout came to my house when I was 17 years old and asked me what the most important pitch in baseball is, not fastball, changeup, it’s strike one,” Syndergaard said. “That’s something I take great pride in. I feel like I’m where I’m supposed to be at. I have a lot of confidence.”
Sosa’s two-run single highlighted a three-run third for the Phillies. He also had an RBI double in the fifth.
Those runs came as a relief for the Phillies, who scored one run while losing two of three to the Mets at Citi Field.
“The reality is the Mets have a pitching staff comparable to anyone in the league,” Phillies right fielder Nick Castellanos said. “When pitching is good, hitting is really hard. (Tonight) reassured what we all know, how good of an offensive team we really are.”
Jake Fraley led off the eighth with a solo homer, his fourth of the season, and Syndergaard was done after 77 pitches.
Seranthony Dominguez notched his ninth…