Noah Syndergaard’s first pitch nearly took off Alcides Escobar’s head, knocking him to the ground. The rest of his pitched knocked the Royals down a few notches as well.

Noah Syndergaard gave the Mets exactly what they needed last night in Game 3. Hope. And life. And momentum. And strikeouts.

What he did that few other teams have been able to is miss the Royals bats, getting them to swing and miss. He recorded six strikeouts, if you are keeping track.

He let the Royals know from the very first pitch who was in command. That pitch tried to decapitate Kansas City’s leadoff hitter Alcides Escobar, known for swinging at the first pitch he sees. It knocked him on his butt. Good thing he saw that pitch and was able to get out of the way.

The Royals were not amused. They were also not able to do much about it.

Syndergaard’s fastball averaged 99 miles-per-hour. Averaged. He mixed in a knee-buckling curve and a devastating change-up.The fact that the Royal got anything off him shows how good they really are.

Fortunately for Syndergaard, he was backed up by the Mets’ bats finally coming alive.

The final score was 9-3. The Mets proved they could out-Royal the Royals when it comes to putting up long innings and keeping the line moving.

While the game didn’t have the drama of earlier games, it infused some drama into the Series. Now it’s two games to one.

Tonight’s Game 4 will put Kansas City on the brink. Or the Mets on a mission.

It might just put a few batters on their butts as well.