The Mets got all they could have hoped for this afternoon – and season – from Robert Gsellman. The Mets’ rookie, who along with Seth Lugo kept them in the wild-card race and was again superb Wednesday afternoon.
Gsellman threw 5.2 scoreless innings with four strikeouts, but couldn’t overcome his anemic offense in the 1-0 loss to the Washington Nationals.
“We didn’t lose any ground,” was manager Terry Collins’ backwards logic because the National League’s wild-card race remained stagnant because both St. Louis and San Francisco also lost.
“I thought he threw the ball very well,” Collins said. “He threw strikes. He had the sinker working and had worked both sides. He didn’t have anything to work with.”
Gsellman and Lugo weren’t on the Mets’ radar entering the season, but they have kept them afloat with both Jacob deGrom (forearm) and Steven Matz (shoulder) still on the disabled list.
Their performances should give the Mets a sense of comfort heading into the offseason and next year, but it is somewhat limited considering the myriad of pitching questions they’ll have this winter:
* How well will Matt Harvey recover from his shoulder surgery?
* As well as Lugo and Gsellman have pitched, has their window been open enough to give the Mets a definitive idea of what they can expect in 2017, and in what roles?
* How well will Matz recover from his expected elbow surgery?
* Will Noah Syndergaard’s bone spur require surgery, and if so, how will he recover?
* With all this in mind, will they bring back Bartolo Colon?
