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Adam Hunger/Associated Press
For the first time since April 30, the Mets’ ace, Noah Syndergaard, took the mound in a major league game on Saturday. As planned, he pitched just the first inning before giving way to Matt Harvey in a 4-3 loss to the Washington Nationals in 10 innings.
Syndergaard, who has been recovering from a partially torn right latissimus muscle, allowed a hit but threw only five pitches in the scoreless inning.
“It was great to see him out there,” Manager Terry Collins said.
With a week left in the season, Syndergaard was running out of time to rebuild enough arm strength to start a game for the Mets. He previously made two minor league rehabilitation starts and threw one simulated game.
His fastball registered 99 miles per hour on the radar gun, normal for Syndergaard, a hard-throwing right-hander. He gave up a single to Jayson Werth but erased Werth from the bases by getting Daniel Murphy to hit into a double play.
