Despite making the start for the Mets on Monday, Robert Gsellman failed to give his team much length, as he did not make it out of the second inning. Gsellman struggled with his command, walking two batters and yielding three hits, while laboring through the Marlins lineup.

In the first inning, Gsellman escaped a bases-loaded jam to allow just one run. In the second inning, Gsellman gave up a pair of hits on his way to recording just two outs. With the left-handed Matt Joyce due up, Luis Rojas went to the bullpen early.

Enter Chasen Shreve.

Shreve quickly set Joyce down on strikes, as he swung through a splitter and a pair of sliders to strand the two runners. Shreve would not have to work with runners on base again, giving the Mets two more innings of much-needed relief.

Working very efficiently, Shreve filleted the fish with ease, striking out four of the six Marlins he faced during the third and fourth innings.

Relying on a three-pitch arsenal, Shreve pairs his 92 mph fastball with a nasty splitter and a slider. The splitter has been his primary weapon this year, carrying an outstanding a 60.7 whiff percentage. The Marlins had no chance on the splitter Monday, as no one made contact on the pitch.

Brian Anderson was so fooled by the splitter that he nearly decapitated a bat boy while striking out on the pitch.

Shreve has been a great addition to the Mets bullpen this year, after being signed to a minor league deal prior to spring training. The veteran earned a job out of summer camp and has been one of Rojas’ best options to get multiple innings out of the pen.

Shreve has gone at least two innings in five of his six appearances.

The most impressive part of Shreve’s season has been his ability to rack up strikeouts, as he now has 17 K’s in just 11 2/3 innings pitched. Monday also marked the second time this season that Shreve recorded a line of at least two innings pitched with five strikeouts, which is a feat a Met reliever has not accomplished since Aaron Heilman back in 2005.

Outside of Edwin Diaz, Shreve currently has the best K/9 rate on the Mets at 13.11. Also, having only issued three free passes, Shreve’s K/BB rate of 5.67 is the top mark on the team, even besting that of Jacob deGrom (5.60 K/BB).

Since Gsellman only lasted 1 2/3 innings, it was Shreve that was awarded with the victory in the Mets 11-4 blowout of the Marlins. Along with picking up his first win as a Met, Shreve lowered his season ERA to 3.09.

With so much uncertainty in the Mets starting rotation at the moment, the ability to get length from relievers is suddenly a necessity. Shreve has quietly become an integral piece to the Mets bullpen, carving out a clear role with the club for the remainder of the season.