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WASHINGTON (AP) — Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard cleared up some questions about the status of his elbow, acknowledging Wednesday he has a bone spur but calling it "pretty insignificant."
"(I can) pitch through it with no pain. I'll be ready to go in five days," he said before New York's game against the Washington Nationals.
Syndergaard said he's being treated with medication.
"As long as I'm staying on my anti-inflammatories, and my mechanics are on point, I'm able to go out there every five days and compete," he said.
Syndergaard (8-3) struggled Monday night in Washington, squandering a 4-0 lead in a loss that ended his six-game winning streak. He lasted only three innings while giving up five runs and three walks, both season highs.
Asked after the game about reports indicating he has a bone spur, the right-hander said he was fine and insisted his elbow wasn't the cause of his shaky performance. He reiterated Wednesday that the poor results were due to his mechanics.
"Honestly, I just think it was because I felt really, really good out there," he said. "My mechanics were kind spiraling out of control. I felt too good. I was trying to throw it harder and harder and it doesn't work like that. ... I was sacrificing location."
In his previous outing last week, Syndergaard beat Kansas City but was pulled after six innings because his elbow flared up, manager Terry Collins said. Syndergaard had an MRI between starts that showed no structural damage, the team said.
Fellow Mets starter Steven Matz also is dealing with a bone spur in his pitching elbow. The left-hander had his scheduled start pushed back from Wednesday to Thursday this week.
Perhaps tiring of the topic, Syndergaard on Wednesday tweeted, "Hey Matz, you want to talk about bone spurs some more?......Matz?.....#letsgetawin," accompanied by a GIF of a man jumping out a window.
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