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Mets Prospect Syndergaard Hurts Shoulder; Harvey Forced To Slow Rehab?

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Noah Syndergaard has already survived an elbow scare this season.

Well, the New York Mets' top pitching prospect is banged-up again -- but this time it's his shoulder.

The towering Triple-A starter, nicknamed "Thor," was injured during a collision on a bang-bang play in the first inning Thursday night.

In a statement, the Mets said Syndergaard "was removed from the game ... after experiencing left shoulder discomfort resulting from a tag play at home plate. The results of precautionary X-rays are pending."

The 21-year-old was making his first start since coming off the disabled list for a right elbow strain. Syndergaard is 5-3 with a 4.47 ERA and 57 strikeouts on the season.

HARVEY DIALING IT DOWN?

Meanwhile, Mets ace Matt Harvey is trying to rush back from reconstructive elbow surgery. The right-hander has said he wants to return in August and make more than a few starts before the end of the season.

But the Mets want to pump the brakes on the process, canceling Tuesday's mound session, according to the New York Daily News.

"If something happens to him, that would just be a huge blow," a team source told the paper. "We just want him to take it a little slower. Nobody wants him to be less competitive, we just want to be cautious."

Pitching coach Dan Warthen confirmed the plan is to "just go a little slower," the Daily News reported.

Harvey went 9-5 with a 2.27 ERA and 191 strikeouts last season before being shut down with a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament. His hot start in 2013 earned him the starting nod for the National League in the All-Star Game at Citi Field.

He had Tommy John surgery on Oct. 22.

MLB has seen an alarming rash of elbow tears -- and re-tears -- that can claim around a year or more for recovery.

"I just want the peace of mind," Harvey told Sports Illustrated last month of his challenging rehab timetable. "I want to go back out there and know I still have the stuff to strike out major league hitters. And I want to know that when I shut it down at the end of the year, I'm just like everybody else shutting it down. I don't want to go through all this work and wonder all winter where I am. I want to be just like everybody else when this season ends and the next one starts."

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