The New York Mets took the rubber match 6-3 in a meaningless game against Philadelphia and from now until early October, winning is all about morale.
An act of God secured a six-inning complete game victory for Mets starter Robert Gsellman who was summoned from Triple-A Las Vegas prior to his fortuitous outing.
Wednesday night on a rain soaked Citi Field, the young right-hander who has shown flashes of so much promise held the Phillies scoreless until the top of the sixth.
With a pitching rotation in shambles, Gsellman was impressive throwing 62 of his 86 pitches for strikes, contributing an RBI single to right to extend the Mets lead 4-0 in the third.’
Gsellman ended up allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits, one walk and four strikeouts.
“The weather and the conditions maybe started to get a little rough,” Mets manager Terry Collins said. “But I really thought the command of [Gsellman’s] pitches tonight was the best I’ve seen him this year.”
Gsellman’s teammates gave him some breathing room early in the game delivering three runs in the bottom of the first off of Asdrubal Cabrera’s RBI single, and Travis d’Arnaud’s 11th home run of the season.
D’Arnaud, platooning with the recently called up Kevin Plawecki, was given a vote of confidence from Mets general manager Sandy Alderson earlier this week that he and Plawecki could be the catching duo for 2018.
In getting a reprieve from the governor, the inconsistent catcher went 2 for 3, something he’ll need to continue as Plawecki’s offense has given him more playing time behind the plate.
Thursday, Matt Harvey has a quick turnaround from his disastrous return from the disabled list as he takes on the Reds in the first of a four-game series. With many problems in Houston, this will be a defining moment for the much-maligned pitcher.
