PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- Consistent. That's the one word that best describes the performance of Noah Syndergaard so far this spring.
Syndergaard, entering his second season in the Mets' rotation, turned in another solid outing Sunday in the Mets' 9-4 loss to the Red Sox at Tradition Field. He was extended to five innings, his longest stint in three Grapefruit League starts this spring, allowing two runs -- only one earned -- on six hits.
"I'm really impressed with the way he's throwing the ball," Mets manager Terry Colliins said of the 23-year-old Syndergaard. "[He's] having a good spring. Today was a really, really good outing for him. A little endurance ... [and] the command of his stuff. He throws any pitch any time. That's pretty impressive for a young guy."
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Syndergaard logged 150 innings in his rookie year last season, compiling a 9-7 record with a 3.24 ERA and 166 strikeouts. With Matt Harvey already announced as the Mets' Opening Day starter, Syndergaard figures to slot in at the No. 2 or 3 spot in the rotation.
"Very pleased with how today went," Syndergaard said of his third start this spring. "Was able to [throw] all my pitches for strikes."
Syndergaard registered five strikeouts against the Red Sox to double his total for the spring, and he issued no walks and has given only one free pass over 11 2-3 innings. He has a 1.54 ERA.
"Overall, I kind of shocked myself a little bit [at] how consistent I've been this entire spring training," Syndergaard said. "Looking forward to it transferring into the regular season."

He said he felt fresh coming into Spring Training despite a fairly heavy load of innings he logged as a rookie.
"I feel like last year the amount of innings I threw over my max helped quite a bit," Syndergaard said. "I gave my body some time off during the offseason to allow myself to recover. After that short time period of rest, I got back to work."
Collins said that the effort and hard work that Syndergaard has displayed since he arrived has been most impressive, and that the results are showing.
"When you're that big and the fact he works so hard with his mechanics, that's the part that's fun for us to watch and see," Collins said of the 6-foot-6 pitcher. "He still wants to get better."