Noah Syndergaard's rough 2023 didn't get any better Wednesday night in Cincinnati, leaving Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts to say the veteran right-hander might need a "reset" to fix his struggles.
Syndergaard allowed six runs and seven hits in three innings as the Dodgers' losing streak hit four with an 8-6 loss to the Reds.
Syndergaard, who signed a one-year, $13 million deal with the Dodgers during the offseason, watched his ERA balloon to 7.16. He has given up five runs or more in three straight starts.
He also has been dealing with a blister on his throwing hand, but Roberts said the struggles go beyond that.
"Noah has been going through it all year. It is not from lack of effort or preparation. It's just not working," Roberts said. "There's things with that blister. There was a fingernail break tonight. He's not going to make excuses. He understands about performance.
"We're going to sit down with him and try to figure out. Obviously, we can't continue at this pace of performance. There might be an opportunity to give him a reset to get this taken care of. You give up a lead. Get the lead again and give it up, it takes a toll on the offense. We couldn't overcome it."
Syndergaard has allowed six earned runs or more in four starts this season overall, tied with Cincinnati's Graham Ashcroft and the Oakland Athletics' Kyle Muller for most in the majors.
He previously had expressed displeasure with his performance this season, calling himself the rotation's "weakest link" last week.
Syndergaard, 30, missed all of 2020 after undergoing Tommy John surgery and has a 4.71 ERA over the past two-plus seasons. The right-hander went 10-10 with a 3.94 ERA last season with the Angels and National League-champion Phillies.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.