Robert Gsellman pitched the best game of his career yesterday

If you can look beyond the 17 runs the offense scored yeterday, something just as fascinating was happening during yesterday’s Mets-Phillies game: Robert Gsellman was throwing the best game of his young career. Over seven innings, Gsellman struck out eight, walked two, and scattered three hits.

Gsellman’s game was notable for a few reasons: This marks the first time that Gsellman went seven innings, threw 100 pitches, struck out more than 6 batters, and collected more than 10 swinging strikes. While Gsellman has had good starts before, yesterday’s seemed like the first time he’s put it all together.

But the real star of his game yesterday was his sinker; Gsellman induced 12 ground balls, all of which were converted to outs. Gsellman told the New York Post that he made a tweak to his mechanics earlier in the week that he credited with helping his performance. The Phillies being one of the worst teams in baseball probably helped, as well, but there’s no denying that Gsellman was lights out yesterday.

With the Mets’ pitching staff missing Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom, and—at the moment—Steven Matz, Gsellman’s importance to the team can’t be overstated. He would likely be the third starter in the Mets’ playoff rotation should they get to a five-game series, behind Noah Syndergaard and Bartolo Colon. Gsellman is scheduled to make his next start on Friday versus the Phillies.