Syndergaard hasn't allowed a hit on any of the 47 sliders he's thrown over his last two starts, generating 16 swinging strikes (34.0 percent) with the pitch, Tim Britton of The Athletic reports.
Thor's slider lost its effectiveness early in the year -- hitters connected on five homers against it in the first half, after Syndergaard had only ever served up one home run on a slider in his entire career coming into 2019 -- but interim pitching coach Phil Regan suggested a mechanical tweak that restored the pitch's movement and velocity. "In Miami [on July 13], he told me it was the best slider he'd had all year," Regan said. "He's got a lot of confidence where he's staying up on top of it now and commanding the ball. You can throw bad sliders as long as you command them down and away and make sure you get the location. His has been pretty sharp lately." Syndergaard's 4.36 ERA and 8.9 K/9 so far this year are the worst marks of his career, but with his slider back as a putaway pitch, the right-hander could be headed for a much more impressive second half.