Mets' Noah Syndergaard on Boston rodent: New York rats way worse

Noah Syndergaard's first start at historic Fenway Park was everything the right-hander could have asked for.

Seven shutout innings. Three hits allowed. An 8-0 New York Mets win.

The only thing not that impressive to Thor? Those Fenway Park rats.

For the second time this week, a rodent was on the loose in a dugout at the Red Sox's famed ballpark, this time keeping Mets players on their toes -- and up on the rail -- as it made its way under the team's bench in the bottom of the third inning Friday night. Catcher Jose Lobaton even went after the rat with his bat.

Syndergaard, meanwhile, was unfazed.

Some of his Mets teammates, however, didn't share the same sentiment.

First basemanDominic Smith, a rat hater, according to Newsday, told the newspaper after the game: "Bro. I'm from LA, bro. We don't have rats. When you see one, it's time to move out of that place and time to buy a whole new place. I want to buy a whole new dugout."

But Smith did have sympathy for this rat.

"The thing was, he was a nice rat," Smith told Newsday. "He wasn't trying to get anybody. He was trying to run. There are some mean rats out there."

There was no word on whether Friday night's rat was the same one that spooked the Red Sox in their dugout Tuesday night against the Toronto Blue Jays. But that one apparently was still on players' minds Friday.

In the second inning -- before the Mets went scurrying -- some Boston players were seen playing with a fake skeleton of an apparent rat atop the dugout railing, even feeding it sunflower seeds.

Syndergaard struck out six and walked three to move to 12-3 on the season and lead the Mets to their fourth straight victory and sixth win in their past seven games.