BREWTAL BEATDOWN
8-RUN 5TH INNING DOOMS AMAZIN’S
The roof finally closed in the seventh inning Saturday night at Miller Park, but by then the sky already had fallen on Robert Gsellman and the Mets.
Though Gsellman has struggled all season, the Mets could not have been prepared for the shellacking the Brewers unleashed on him. Simply, manager Terry Collins’ starting rotation keeps sinking, with no immediate solutions in sight.
The eight-spot surrendered by Gsellman and Hansel Robles in the fifth inning was enough for the Mets to lose their third straight, 11-4, in the Land of Cheese.
“Just wash it down after I take a shower and move forward,” Gsellman said after allowing 12 base runners in four-plus innings.
With Collins emptying his bench, Jose Reyes made his debut in center field — playing just the sixth inning at the position, before moving to shortstop. Before the game, Collins indicated he plans to play T.J. Rivera and Lucas Duda at the corner infield spots, meaning Reyes will see outfield action to keep him in the mix.
Gsellman (2-3, 7.07 ERA) was finished after allowing six runs, five earned, on nine hits and three walks. In a fifth inning that seemed destined to last for eternity after Gsellman allowed four runs without retiring a batter, Robles surrendered four additional, three of which came on Travis Shaw’s blast into the right-field seats.
“I’m pretty concerned,” Collins said. “We’re not seeing how good we know [Gsellman] can be. We’re not seeing that good sinker and command of his secondary pitches.”
A rotation that was supposed to carry the Mets is now officially the worst in the major leagues, sporting a 5.13 ERA — with Gsellman and Matt Harvey the most conspicuous offenders.
“Right now we are just stumped about what is going on,” Collins said. “It’s been shocking to me. We have a tough time getting [starters] through the fifth inning. We should be better than we are.”
Said Gsellman: “We can go up from here.”
The Mets would like to believe they have reinforcements in Steven Matz and Seth Lugo, but both are at least two to three weeks from potentially rejoining the team, after throwing two innings apiece Saturday in an extended spring training game for the first time since hitting the disabled list.
If the Mets (16-19) are going to avoid a sweep, they will need ace Jacob deGrom to get his act together Sunday after two straight uncharacteristically shaky starts. But there are no givens for the Mets, who have allowed runs lately at an alarming rate.
And the pressure continues to mount on an overworked bullpen that is without closer Jeurys Familia, who underwent surgery Friday to remove a blood clot in his right shoulder. The right-hander will be sidelined three to four months and won’t resume throwing for at least six weeks.
Robles hadn’t been touched in nearly a month, increasing his career-best scoreless streak to 14 innings before his implosion Saturday. Overall, Robles surrendered four earned runs on four hits and a walk.
Neil Walker’s second homer in as many games, a solo blast in the fifth, extended the Mets’ lead to 4-2 before the Brewers turned the game into a runaway with eight runs in the bottom of the inning. Four were charged to Gsellman.
“I’m just rushing, being too quick, not keeping my head still, and putting the ball down the middle,” Gsellman said.
Asdrubal Cabrera’s double error in the second led to the Brewers scoring an unearned run. Cabrera booted Orlando Arcia’s grounder and then threw wild to first, allowing the runner to take second. Jonathan Villar’s two-out RBI single sliced the Mets’ lead to 3-2.