Gsellman, Mets douse Phils in 6 rainy innings
NEW YORK » Robert Gsellman pitched well in a winning return from the minors and Travis d’Arnaud homered to help the New York Mets beat the Philadelphia Phillies 6-3 on Wednesday night in a game shortened to six innings because of rain.
Asdrubal Cabrera went 3 for 3 with an RBI single and scored twice as the Mets improved to 37-17 against Philadelphia over the past three years. New York took two of three from the last-place Phillies and has won 18 of the last 21 series between the teams.
Nick Williams hit a tworun homer and Cesar Hernandez was 3 for 3 with an RBI double for the Phillies, who trailed 6-0 before scoring three in the sixth off Gsellman (6-6) following Cabrera’s throwing error at third base. But any hopes of completing the comeback were washed away when the game was called after a 57-minute delay with one out in the bottom half.
Gsellman helped himself when he bounced an RBI single inside first base in the second. The rookie right-hander, who allowed two earned runs and five hits, was credited with his first career complete game despite being pulled for a pinch-hitter just before the umpires stopped play.
The grounds crew rolled out the tarp to cover the infield, but a foreboding forecast called for hours of steady showers. With the rain getting heavier and both teams way out of the pennant race, the game never resumed.
The dreary weather was fitting for two teams playing through rain as they close out the final few weeks of miserable seasons. The game started on time, but the announced crowd of 19,617 appeared to include fewer than 1,000 fans scattered throughout the stands.
Brandon Nimmo had two sacrifice flies for the Mets, and Gsellman earned his first major league win since June 10 at Atlanta. He was on the disabled list from June 28 until Aug. 15 with a strained left hamstring.
Gsellman was optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas on Aug. 27 and recalled Wednesday after the Mets decided against starting Matt Harvey on three days’ rest due to the wet forecast, according to manager Terry Collins.
Cabrera hit an RBI single in the first and d’Arnaud went the other way to rightcenter for a two-run homer off rookie Nick Pivetta (5-10), who tossed seven innings of one-hit ball for a 7-1 win at Citi Field on July 2.
Pivetta gave up 10 hits in five innings. He struck out five and walked none.
ARMS WATCH
Two big-name Mets pitchers are on the mound Thursday — one in Queens, the other in Brooklyn. Harvey starts at Citi Field against the Reds, his second outing since returning from a mid-June shoulder injury. The former ace was tagged for seven runs and eight hits in two innings Saturday at Houston, the shortest start of his career. New York teammate Noah Syndergaard makes a rehab start for Class A Brooklyn against the Staten Island Yankees. Syndergaard has been out since May 1 with a torn lat muscle but is expected back before the season ends.
TRAINER’S ROOM
PHILLIES » CF Odubel Herrera got a planned night off after extending his career-high hitting streak to 19 games Tuesday. Herrera came off the disabled list Monday — he had been sidelined by a strained left hamstring since Aug. 18. His hitting streak matches the longest in the majors this season and is the best by a Philadelphia player since Chase Utley also hit safely in 19 straight 10 years ago. Herrera is expected to play the next two games and then get another rest . ... OF Aaron Altherr was unable to test his right hamstring before the game. Plans for him to run the bases were scrapped because of the wet field. Altherr has been sidelined since Aug. 5. He was activated from the disabled list Monday but has not yet been cleared to play. METS » Amed Rosario’s bruised right index finger remained swollen, and the rookie shortstop missed his third consecutive game . ... INF Wilmer Flores (broken nose) sat out for the fourth straight game and will be reexamined Thursday . ... AllStar OF Michael Conforto had surgery in Los Angeles to repair a tear in the posterior capsule in his left shoulder.
UP NEXT
PHILLIES » RHP Aaron Nola (10-10, 3.72 ERA) is 1-3 with a 7.33 ERA in his last four starts after compiling a 1.71 ERA in his previous 10 outings. He gets the ball Thursday night at NL East-leading Washington against RHP Tanner Roark (11-9, 4.48) in the opener of a four-game series. METS » Harvey is 4-4 with a 5.97 ERA in 14 starts and New York is hoping to see signs that he can be effective next season. The righthander is 3-0 with a 2.48 ERA in five career starts against Cincinnati.