NEW YORK -- One rocket-armed rookie gets hurt, the New York Mets simply turn to another.
Pretty nice to have all that young pitching.
Noah Syndergaard struck out a career-high 13 in eight overpowering innings, and New York got consecutive homers from slumping sluggers Lucas Duda and Michael Cuddyer to beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 4-2 on Friday night.
"I was able to just relax and go right after guys," Syndergaard said. "The ability to change speeds and keep them off balance was the reason for my success."
Hours after teammate Steven Matz went on the disabled list with wins in both big league starts, Syndergaard (4-4) gave the Mets and their stingy rotation a major boost. He gave up a sacrifice fly in the first to All-Star bopper Paul Goldschmidt and then dominated the Diamondbacks, allowing only one run for the third consecutive start.
The 6-foot-6, 242-pound rookie from Texas walked off to a warm ovation from the crowd of 28,243.
"He's pitching good right now and he knows it," Mets manager Terry Collins said. "His last three have been tremendous. ... He's grown fast."
Syndergaard whiffed Goldschmidt twice and threw 116 pitches, most by a Mets starter this season. The 22-year-old righty with the blazing fastball yielded four hits and walked two, reaching double digits in strikeouts for the third time in 11 career games.
Every member of Arizona's starting lineup struck out at least once.
"He located pretty much every off-speed pitch where he wanted to throw it," said All-Star outfielder A.J. Pollock, who doubled and scored in the first. "You do that with 98 (mph) in the tank and you have a hitter thinking that, you know, he might rear back and throw 98, it's just tough to hit."
Jeurys Familia allowed Welington Castillo's RBI single before securing his 25th save in 27 attempts.
After a single by Ruben Tejada and a two-out walk to Wilmer Flores in the first, Duda drove a 2-0 pitch from Chase Anderson (4-3) over the 408-foot sign in straightaway center field for a three-run shot. The ball smacked off the black batter's eye just below the well that houses the home run apple at Citi Field.
It was the first homer since June 18 and second since May 29 for a player who had 30 last season. Before connecting for his 11th of the year, Duda was batting .158 since June 1 -- including .069 in July (2 for 29).
"I'm definitely glad to contribute tonight. I haven't done that in a long time, so it feels good," Duda said.
Cuddyer followed with a drive to left that was gloved by a fan wearing a Juan Lagares shirt.
Cuddyer started just two of the previous eight games because of a sore left knee. It was his first home run in 89 at-bats since June 5 at Arizona, and he entered batting .133 in his past 19 games.
The Mets went nine games without a long ball before Eric Campbell's two-run shot Wednesday in San Francisco helped finish a 4-2 West Coast trip. They hadn't hit two homers in a game since June 20 at Atlanta -- and it marked their first four-run inning since June 1 in San Diego.
"The two guys that we hope to ride in the second half broke out a little bit tonight," Collins said.
Syndergaard is 4-1 with a 1.74 ERA in six starts at Citi Field. He has struck out 42, walked six and given up only four extra-base hits.
Diamondbacks: OF Ender Inciarte (strained right hamstring) is playing rehab games at Double-A Mobile but is not expected back until after the All-Star break. ... Anderson went down after getting hit in the left calf by Lagares' sharp infield single in the fourth. Arizona manager Chip Hale and a trainer came out, but Anderson walked it off and threw one warmup pitch before staying in the game. "Buster Posey got the right calf and -- was it Lagares? Lagares got the left. I'll probably name my calves Posey and Lagares," Anderson said.
Mets: LHP Jerry Blevins (broken left forearm) received a second opinion in Boston and doctors determined his arm has not healed well enough yet for him to begin throwing. "He will be re-examined in the proverbial three weeks," general manager Sandy Alderson said.
Diamondbacks LHP Patrick Corbin (1-0) faces Mets RHP Matt Harvey (7-6) on Saturday in a matchup of pitchers who returned from Tommy John surgery this season. Corbin allowed two runs and eight hits over five innings last Saturday in his first outing of the year, a 7-3 victory over Colorado. He grew up near Syracuse and is expecting a large cheering section in the stands, Hale said.
