WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Big boys, show ponies, grinders - or any other nickname that sets them apart from nearly all other human beings - Justin Verlander and Noah Syndergaard are of a rare breed of starting pitchers who go deep into games with closer-level velocity.

Even rarer, they matched up for a stud competition at Fitteam Ballpark of the Palm Beaches on Monday. The hiss and pop of fastballs pounding catcher's mitts composed a spring training soundtrack of dueling rifles.

In the first of consecutive day games the Astros would win over the Mets, Verlander and Syndergaard generated radar gun readings uncommon for Grapefruit League debuts. Verlander maxed out at 97 mph and struck out four batters. Syndergaard pumped 101 mph and struck out two, including reigning AL MVP Jose Altuve.

"It's fun to see the big boys get in there," Astros manager A.J. Hinch said.

Verlander is 6-5 with experience. Syndergaard is 6-6 with tremendous potential. But being big, long and hard to hit does not link them as much as a palpable sense throughout a ballpark that these men can make any contest feel intense.

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The strapping righthanders shared a gaze before squaring off. It touched Syndergaard and revved his motor.

Cool moment

"That guy's been a stud pitcher for many, many years," Syndergaard told reporters after the game. "He actually said hi to me in the outfield, so that was pretty cool, just to have a pitcher like him do that."

They hammered away for two perfect innings. That was enough to keep batters baffled and the crowd hoping two of the most aggressive starters in baseball would throw harder and faster for longer, but not so much that either man felt satiated.

Verlander talked about a need to feel out his curveball and changeup better.

Syndergaard, who missed nearly four months last season because of a partially torn lat muscle, wanted to expend more energy after the game.

He tied his golden tresses into a bun and sprinted shirtless on a backfield. Then he got too hot, he told reporters, to put on a shirt for postgame interviews.

"I didn't really feel like I was exerting a whole lot of effort," said Syndergaard, bare-chested and glistening in front of the cameras.

Both pitchers had longed for competition that could get their juices flowing and adrenaline coursing.

"I was pretty juiced," Syndergaard said.

Verlander craved the same sensation.

"It felt great," he said.

Considering how much he has wrenched his arm, Verlander was surprised by his own vitality.

"Actually," he said, forming a big grin, "the velocity was pretty doggone good today. A while ago, it was 98, 99, 100 (mph) the first day of spring training. Not really the same anymore with a lot of mileage on the arm."

Verlander, a 13-year veteran and former MVP with the Tigers, has mounted a stellar career by pitching like he is bottled up and ready to burst. He rarely sees an opposing pitcher who resembles a younger, harder-throwing version of himself.

Syndergaard, who is 25, made Verlander miss the days when he could roll out of bed in February and blow away hitters.

"Maybe not 100 right away," Verlander said. "Yeah, I used to run it up there pretty good."

Syndergaard induced a flaccid swing to strike out Marwin Gonzalez, but he toyed with Altuve, one of the most difficult batters to get looking. He followed consecutive fastballs with consecutive changeups, the last of which cut back over the plate at 92 mph.

"If he throws that changeup 100 times, he's going to strike me out 100 times," Altuve said.

Syndergaard inflamed Verlander's velocity envy between innings. Verlander wanted to top Syndergaard in the second.

"I noticed how quick that first inning was," Verlander said. "I definitely saw the radar gun lighting up. I really wanted to hit 100 my second inning."

Verlander chuckled. He realized he came across like a stag chasing a buck.

"Stay within myself, right?" he said.

That became harder when he wished he were in Syndergaard's body, one still spry enough to unleash a rising fastball at will. Since his debut in 2015, Syndergaard has thrown 59 percent of his pitches at least 95 mph, compared with 22 percent for Verlander.

Despite the wide hole in his season last year, Syndergaard's 210 pitches at 100 mph or more are the most by far of any starter since 2015. Nathan Eovaldi is second with 96.

Although they are two leagues and 10 years in age apart, Verlander and Syndergaard have been long-distance admirers. Against the odds, they had matched up before, when the interleague schedule had the Mets facing the Tigers on Aug. 5, 2016. Verlander won.

"I've been a fan of his from afar," Verlander said.

He felt flattered to hear that Syndergaard appreciated the quick but intimate exchange in the outfield.

"Oh, really?" Verlander said. "I thought he looked great today."

Lean machines

Verlander praised the young pitcher's trim physique - before Syndergaard's shirtless interview was disseminated.

"I know he lost some weight on purpose," Verlander said. "He wanted to be lean and strong, more mobility."

Syndergaard's lat tear resulted from vigorously pumping too much weight. Packing on a lot of new muscle appeared to engorge his size past a breaking point.

He now works his body like Verlander, who favors flexibility over squats.

"He's worrying less about getting big and strong and more about having a strong frame, being lean," Verlander said. "I'm a big fan of all that."

Someday Syndergaard will have to emulate Verlander more. At 35, Verlander is finding new ways to finish off batters. He still can ride up and inside with a heater or go backdoor with a breaking ball, but he is focusing on the grip and release of his changeup, which he said has been inconsistent the last seven years. He vacillates between gripping it with two or four fingers.

If they stick to pitching once every five days, Verlander and Syndergaard will not come together again this spring. Their teams will not match up in the regular season. They could reunite at the All-Star Game in Washington, D.C. There also is the World Series, if it all goes just right.

And if not, at least each pitcher can say he left his mark on the other - on a cool spring afternoon they made hotter.