New York Mets rookie pitcher, Robert Gsellman continued his string of success as he put down the Phillies for the second consecutive start.
Gsellman went six innings Friday night in the Mets’ 5-1 victory over Philadelphia. He allowed one run on seven hits while walking one and striking out seven.
“I’m just focusing on having fun and doing what I do: getting ground-ball outs and having fun,” Gsellman said. “This is what I dreamed of. It’s a lot of fun. Hopefully I can keep having fun for years.”
In his last two starts, both against the Phillies, Gsellman has pitched 13 innings while allowing just the one run. He has 15 strikeouts over that same time period. Gsellman improved his record to 4-2 on the season with Friday’s victory in what was his final regular season start.
Gsellman has had an incredible rookie season with the Mets since being summoned to the big league club. He has compiled a 2.42 ERA and a whip of 1.28 in the eight games he appeared in, seven of which he started.
Injuries to pitchers Jacob deGrom, Steven Matz, Matt Harvey and Zack Wheeler, created an opportunity for himself and fellow rookie, Seth Lugo. Both pitchers have taken advantage of the opportunity at hand, proving their worth in the the big leagues.
“I can’t even tell you how important they’ve been to the club,” Terry Collins said about Gsellman and Lugo. “We’ve asked a lot of our young pitchers that have come up…Nobody was thrust into a pennant race like these guys. Noah came up last year early, obviously pitched most of the year for us, and therefore got in a pennant race. These guys came up in August and — BAM — they’re in the middle of crunch time. They have really done an outstanding job of controlling their emotions.”
With Friday’s win, the Mets clinched at the very worst a tie for a Wild Card spot. With a win on Saturday or a Cardinals loss, the Mets will clinch a Wild Card spot all to their own. Manager, could not be happier with how his team has played down the stretch.
“We had to take care of our own business and we’ve done that,” Collins said. “And we’re not going to stop doing it.”
