Gsellman, Mets manhandle Phillies in 17-0 rout
NEW YORK -- Rookie Robert Gsellman continued to come up big on Sunday afternoon, when the long-haired right-hander threw a career-high seven scoreless innings to lead the New York Mets to a 17-0 rout of the Philadelphia Phillies at Citi Field.
The National League wild-card leading Mets (83-73) capped their final homestand of the regular season with the most lopsided shutout win in the franchise's 55-season history. The previous biggest shutout was a 14-0 win over the Cincinnati Reds on April 19, 1998. The most lopsided win in franchise history was a 19-1 win over the Chicago Cubs on May 26, 1964.
New York took three of four from the Phillies (70-86), who jumped out to a 10-0 lead Saturday before being outscored 25-0 the remainder of the series.
The Mets entered Sunday tied for the first NL wild card with the San Francisco Giants and a half-game ahead of the St. Louis Cardinals. Should the Mets and Giants tie for the first wild card, New York would host the wild card game by virtue of winning the season series between the clubs.
Gsellman, who began the season with Double-A Binghamton, allowed just three hits and two walks while striking out a career-high eight. He owns a 3-2 mark overall and is 2-1 with a 2.83 ERA in six starts in place of injured left-hander Jonathon Niese.
The Phillies mounted their only threat in the first inning, when Gsellman escaped a two-on, two-out jam by retiring Ryan Howard on a comebacker. Gsellman retired 18 of the final 21 batters he faced before gazing around the stadium as he walked off the mound to a standing ovation following the seventh inning.
Asdrubal Cabrera's grand slam in the seventh inning highlighted an unusual offensive outburst for the Mets, who scored two runs on a pair of bases-loaded walks drawn by Jose Reyes as well as a run apiece on a double play grounder, a bases-loaded hit batsman and a bases-loaded wild pitch.
Curtis Granderson hit a solo homer in the fourth and T.J. Rivera laced an RBI single in the fifth. Reyes hit a two-run double in the eighth, when Eric Campbell followed with a two-run pinch-hit single and Michael Conforto hit a pinch-hit two-run double,
Rookie right-hander Jake Thompson (3-6) took the loss after giving up three runs on five hits and three walks while striking out one over four innings.
Cesar Hernandez went 0-for-4 as his hitting streak ended at 11 games and his streak of reaching base safely was stopped at 29 games.
NOTES: A moment of silence was held prior to the game in honor of Miami Marlins ace Jose Fernandez, who died in a boating accident early Sunday morning. A Mets jersey with Fernandez's name and number 16 hung in the Mets' dugout. ... Fernandez, who was scheduled to pitch against the Mets in the opener of a three-game series in Miami on Monday night, made his major league debut against the Mets at Citi Field on April. 7, 2013. "When the first pitch left his hand, the first thought is 'oh wow, this is something special,'" Mets manager Terry Collins said. ... Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard said he expected it would feel weird to play Sunday. "You've still got to go out, you've still got to play," Howard said. "But I think that everybody in baseball today has a heavy heart."