“We have arguably the best closer in the game and they hit four groundballs and three of them didn’t get out of the infield and the game’s tied”, Collins said. Here’s another fact: NY put itself in position for the playoffs with its recent surge, a point manager Terry Collins intends on pushing.
Advertisement
Gsellman was aided by a strong game behind the plate from Rene Rivera, who threw out two runners attempting to steal, upping his season average to 33.3 percent (18-for-54).
Roark finished that night in NY (0-2) against the Mets this season, in spite of the fact that he had a 1.88 ERA and a.180/.268/.280 line against in 14 ⁄3 IP vs the Nats’ NL East rivals in two starts and one relief appearance this season.
Wilson Ramos supplied the lone run in Wednesday’s 1-0 win over the Mets, swatting a solo home run in the seventh inning.
Entering Wednesday, the Mets were the second NL wild card, a half-game back of the Giants and a half-game ahead of the Cardinals.
“We’ve got ourselves right where we need to be”, Mets manager Terry Collins said.
Salas, who was 3-6 with the Angels, had not allowed a run in seven appearances since being acquired from Los Angeles on August 31.
Noah Syndergaard started the game for the Mets and pitched a dominating seven innings, only allowing four hits and striking out 10. The Nationals have won five of six. The blast helped quiet a rowdy Seven Line Army (a Mets-nationish type thing that’s named for the subway running from Manhattan to Citi Field) that had taken over an entire section in the left field corner at Nats Park.
“To me, this was just another game that we were distancing ourselves from NY”, said Speier, singing the same tune. “We’re going home in the Wild Card hunt. Our fans should be excited”, Collins stated. They will play 10 games against the Twins, Braves and Phillies. “This is a big time of year”.
Baker was not with the team in the series finale because of a death in the family.
Bench coach Chris Speier will manage the team in Baker’s absence.
Roark is 1-2 with a 1.27 ERA in four appearances against the Mets this season including three starts.
Roark threw at least seven shutout innings for a major league-leading ninth time this season.
The Mets had an early opportunity against Roark, loading the bases with one out in the first before Jay Bruce struck out on three straight pitches and T.J. Rivera was retired.
“All I could do was go up there and try to have a good at-bat”, Rivera said. “But, you know, he’s good, and we didn’t get it done”.
He has been the starting pitcher in seven of the team’s 12 shutouts this season. They can do it Thursday night with a win at home over Milwaukee or a St. Louis loss in San Francisco.
It was the second time in his short major league career that Gsellman had frustrated the Nationals.
Advertisement
Two innings later, NY caught a break when Curtis Granderson hit what should have been a double-play grounder to Ryan Zimmerman, but the ball went under Zimmerman’s glove and resulted in an RBI triple into the right-field corner. OF Justin Ruggiano, on the DL since August 27, underwent left shoulder surgery. Syndergaard can start Sunday on normal rest, but Collins would rather give him an extra day and start him Monday. Syndergaard struck out 10 over seven innings in New York’s 4-3 win in 10 innings Tuesday.
