The Mets went down without much of a fight Sunday against the Marlins, losing 7-0 and tallying only one hit and two walks. The day began with news that starting pitcher Matt Harvey was suspended for three days for “violating team rules.” Then, spot starter Adam Wilk was knocked around for six runs (five earned) on eight hits, three of which were home runs, in 3.2 innings. All around it was a bad day, but thankfully, there was a silver lining.
Right-handed pitcher Paul Sewald replaced the battered Wilk in the 4th inning and pitched 3.1 innings, allowing one run on four hits while striking out six.
“It sucks that they expect somebody to make that kind of travel and be ready to pitch 100 percent,” Sewald said about Wilk, who had to journey from Las Vegas to Albequerque to New York in one day. “He did the best he could. He went out there and didn’t pitch bad, he competed and gave us a few innings. Just one of those days.”
Sewald’s outing was a much needed one for the Mets. Because Gsellman could only get through five innings Saturday night and Wilk could only get through 3.2 innings on Sunday, the Mets needed someone to eat innings so their entire bullpen wouldn’t be exhausted going into the series with the Giants.
Furthermore, this outing came in a day game after a night game in which Sewald recorded the final six outs with two perfect innings. Few relievers nowadays would be able to pitch effectively with such a short period of rest between two-inning and nearly four-inning outings.
Sewald, 26, has been in the Mets organization since 2012 when he played for A- Brooklyn. In his minor league career, he has gone 17-8 with a 2.20 ERA in 266.1 innings, striking out 319 batters and walking 61. He has been championed a lot by our own Joe D. and during the offseason he tabbed him as a breakout player for the Mets in 2017.
