Noah Syndergaard wins his rain-shortened Phillies debut, 5-4, over the Nationals

It was fitting that a thunderstorm passed through South Philadelphia on the night right-handed starter Noah Syndergaard was scheduled to make his Phillies debut.

In the fourth inning, the wind picked up. In the fifth inning, a flash of lightning and a rumble of thunder bellowed over the left field stands. And by 8:47 p.m., the forecast was on the Jumbotron, the tarp was on the field, and the game officially was in a rain delay. Just before 11 p.m., the game was called because of rain. It was an official game, which the Phillies won, 5-4.

Syndergaard, one of the Phillies’ three acquisitions at the trade deadline, goes by “Thor,” otherwise known as the Norse god of “lightning, thunder, storms, strength and protection.” It couldn’t have been scripted better.

Syndergaard’s outing, on the other hand, could have. Facing a Nationals lineup that is one of the worst, if not the worst, in baseball, Syndergaard allowed 11 hits and four earned runs over five innings. In the top of the fifth inning, while pitching with a 5-2 lead, he allowed an RBI single and a wild pitch that scored Luke Voit, who was the runner on third. By the time the rain started to come down, the Phillies’ 5-2 lead had been trimmed to 5-4.

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He finished his night at 79 pitches and 56 strikes. Technically, it was a complete game, the fourth of his career, which allowed interim manager Rob Thomson to rest his bullpen.

It wasn’t the best debut, but it’s hard to know what to make of it, given that Syndergaard hadn’t pitched since July 25, which amounts to nine days of rest. Syndergaard was scheduled to pitch Tuesday for the Angels, but he was traded just before the deadline and suddenly was on his way to Philadelphia instead. He said it was “pretty crazy” hearing the news, considering he’d faced the Phillies for parts of six seasons with the New York Mets.

“It was kind of tough to believe at first, being with the Mets for the longest time,” he said. “I never really pictured myself in a Phillies uniform. But I couldn’t be more proud to sport the powder blue. I look forward to wearing the pinstripes in another start. Extremely thrilled and blessed to be in this clubhouse and to play for a really good team, and a contender that has high expectations to make it all the way to the top.”

Rob Thomson said Syndergaard had been throwing bullpens. Syndergaard said he threw “one or two, maybe even closer to three” bullpens over the past 10 days.

“The first two innings I felt a little stiff, but that’s rightfully so, new stadium, new team, new uniform,” he said. “It was just kind of a shock, and I was a little tense. But once I settled in I felt like I was able to execute my pitches nicely; I just had a lot of weak contact and hit it where some guys weren’t. Got my first win, so that feels really good to get that out of the way. It was just a lot of fun to watch the lineup put the runs. Luckily the weather made it a short game.”

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After hitting four home runs through the first three months of the season, third baseman Alec Bohm hit his second home run in his past four games, a 366-foot shot to left-center field that gave the Phillies a 5-2 lead in the bottom of the third. It was Bohm’s eighth home run of the season, setting a new career high.

Bohm is hitting .345/.345/.586 over his past seven games and .417/.435/.583 over his last 15.

“We just keep telling him, ‘Whatever you’re doing, keep doing it, please,’” Rhys Hoskins said of Bohm. “Don’t stop it. I think one thing that’s been cool to see about what he’s doing at the plate is he’s always so good at using the right side of the field, and he’s pulling the ball correctly. You can see it. He’s backspinning the baseball to left field. Not just breaking balls, either. He did it tonight on a breaking ball, but that just makes him so much more dangerous. As soon as he steps in the box, if the pitcher knows he’s liable to do some damage, with his hitting prowess, he’s going to get pitches to hit, and he’s not missing them right now. And it’s great to see.”

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In his first game and first at-bat as a Phillie, center fielder Brandon Marsh hit a single to left field in the bottom of the third. It was off of a curveball, a pitch Marsh has struggled to hit well this season. Per Baseball Savant, he’s batting .105 on curveballs in 2022. Marsh said before the game that he already had a hitting session with Phillies hitting coach Kevin Long and “found out some stuff about me that I had no idea about.” The Phillies are optimistic there is upside in his bat.

Before the rain delay, Hoskins was 2-for-2 with two RBIs. He hit a solo home run off of Nationals starter Paolo Espino in the bottom of the first that left his bat at 102.3 mph and traveled 387 feet. In the bottom of the third, he hit a line-drive RBI single to left field.

In the top of the fifth inning, with one outs and runners on second and third base in a 5-4 ballgame, Josh Palacios hit a fly ball to right fielder Nick Castellanos. Castellanos, who is statistically one of the worst outfield defenders in baseball, gunned the ball to home plate in time for a double play to end the inning and preserve the Phillies’ lead.

“I was telling Kyle (Schwarber), as soon as it came out of my hand, I’m like, that one felt good,” Castellanos said of the throw. “And then, obviously, him being out at the plate made it even better.”