Mets scratch Noah Syndergaard with discomfort in biceps

The New York Mets had already pushed back Noah Syndergaard's turn in the rotation by a day, but before Thursday afternoon's game against the Atlanta Braves, the right-hander was scratched with discomfort in his biceps.

Robert Gsellman started Wednesday night for Syndergaard, and manager Terry Collins said Matt Harvey was moved back into his regular turn Thursday.

Gsellman was scheduled to pitch Tuesday against Atlanta in a game that was rained out, and the Mets initially said they would skip their No. 5 starter and let Syndergaard pitch Wednesday on normal rest.

But several hours before first pitch, New York announced that it would instead slide the rotation back, with Syndergaard throwing Thursday against the Braves and Harvey pushed back a day to Friday in the opener of a series against the NL East-leading Washington Nationals.

Syndergaard is 1-1 with a 1.73 ERA, 0.88 WHIP and 30 strikeouts in 26 innings this season.

He pitched through a bone spur in his right elbow through a large part of last season. He says his biceps became irritated a few days ago and he took anti-inflammatory medication. He says he felt strong enough to pitch Thursday.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.