Mets ace Noah Syndergaard pitches one scoreless inning in major league return

NEW YORK -- Mets ace Noah Syndergaard tossed one scoreless inning Saturday night against Washington, throwing just five pitches in his first major league game since partially tearing his right lat muscle on April 30.

"It was great. I put in a lot of time and work the past four months, five months to be back out there,'' Syndergaard said.

Syndergaard drew a loud cheer from the crowd at Citi Field when his name was announced in the New York lineup. Then he reached 99 mph with his fastball. The Mets had said he would start and work only one inning in his return.

Syndergaard retired Trea Turner on a fly ball, gave up a single to Jayson Werth and got Daniel Murphy to ground into a double play.

"I felt really good out there,'' Synderagaard said. "I felt like I was out there throwing pretty effortlessly and staying in control.''

An All-Star last season, Syndergaard started on Opening Day this season. He was 1-2 with a 3.29 ERA in five starts before getting hurt.

"I don't feel much different than when I first started a game, but it's just a great sign I was able to complete that inning healthy,'' Syndergaard said.

Matt Harvey, as planned, took over for the Mets to pitch in the second inning against the NL East champion Nationals.

Murphy homered in the 10th inning to lift Washington over New York 4-3.