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          New York Mets

          Noah Syndergaard set to face Giants or Cardinals in wild-card game

          • Adam Rubin, ESPN Staff WriterOct 1, 2016, 05:50 PM ET
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              Adam Rubin has covered the Mets since 2003. He's a graduate of Mepham High School on Long Island and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He joined ESPNNewYork after spending 10 years at the New York Daily News.
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          PHILADELPHIA -- Which team he will face remains to be determined, but Noah Syndergaard will start for the New York Mets in Wednesday’s wild-card game at Citi Field.

          Syndergaard had been scheduled to pitch the final day of the regular season if the Mets needed to win that game to secure a postseason berth.

          Instead, with the Mets clinching the National League’s top wild-card spot with a 5-3 win against the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday, rookie Gabriel Ynoa will start Sunday. Syndergaard instead will throw a bullpen session at Citizens Bank Park to tune up for the San Francisco Giants or St. Louis Cardinals.

          Syndergaard is 1-2 with a 3.66 ERA in three career starts against the Giants. He is 0-2 with a 2.77 ERA in two career starts against the Cardinals. Those two teams will go down to the final day of the regular season -- and possibly a play-in game Monday at Busch Stadium -- to determine who will face the Mets.

          “It’s just kind of smooth sailing for us right now, up until Wednesday,” Syndergaard said. “I can get my mind right and get ready to play some ball.”

          As for pitching the winner-take-all game Wednesday, Syndergaard added, “I think it’s like every little kids’ dream come true to pitch in a high-stakes game. I’ll embrace it. I’ll look forward to it. It should be a lot of fun.”

          Syndergaard went 14-9 with a 2.60 ERA in 31 appearances (30 starts) this season. His one vulnerability has been teams’ ability to run against him, which likely means defensive-minded Rene Rivera starting behind the plate rather than Travis d'Arnaud in the wild-card game. Would-be base stealers were successful on 48 of 57 steal attempts against Syndergaard this season. That’s the most successful steals against a major league pitcher since Hideo Nomo allowed 52 for the Boston Red Sox in 2001.

          Syndergaard last pitched Tuesday in Miami, so he will have more than a week between starts.

          Manager Terry Collins originally considered using Syndergaard for roughly 25 pitches against the Phillies on Sunday if the Mets had clinched to keep him sharp. Team officials ultimately opted to withhold Syndergaard from the game entirely and instead have him throw off a bullpen mound. Syndergaard said he agreed that is the proper way to prepare.

          As for the Mets’ 27-12 record since Aug. 20 -- the best winning percentage in the majors during that span -- Syndergaard said, “It’s just been kind of a whirlwind right now. We did a really good job at staying positive. We’ve got a lot of good, veteran leadership in the clubhouse like [Jose] Reyes and Asdrubal [Cabrera] and Neil [Walker]. Even though [Walker is] hurt right now, he’s still a presence in the clubhouse, which adds a lot of positive energy.”