Dodgers pitcher Noah Syndergaard gives brutal self-assessment

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Noah Syndergaard is not feeling great about his level of play as of late. In fact, he's been so bad for L.A. over the past two starts that his spot in the starting rotation could be up in the air.

And he can't argue that.

"It really sucks," Syndergaard said after he gave up seven hits and five runs in five innings pitched against the Washington Nationals on Wednesday, per ESPN. "Right now I just feel like I'm the weakest link on this team. I want to go out there and compete and be successful for the other guys in this clubhouse, but it's just not working out."

Syndergaard, who had a career ERA of 4.11 over nine MLB seasons, has seen his ERA jump up to 6.54 after his latest start. He was absolutely rocked by the Nationals, giving up three home runs and striking out just two. In his last start before that, he gave up six runs off eight hits in six innings of work against the Tampa Bay Rays.

For those keeping track, that's 11 runs compared to just five strikeouts over his last two outings for the Dodgers. That's far from the 2.60 ERA he put up in his All-Star season with the New York Mets (2016). Heck, he doesn't even look close to the dominant pitcher he once was.

"I would give my hypothetical firstborn to be the old me again," he said. "I'll do anything possible to get back to that. I'm expected to go out there and compete, and today I just fell behind a lot of hitters."

Things have been so bad that Dodgers manager Dave Roberts would not commit to Syndergaard's next start.

"As an organization, we've got to continue to figure out which guys give us the best chance to win on a particular day as far as starters," Roberts said. "I don't know right now the plan as far as Noah, when he's going to start next."