Hansel Robles turns boos to cheers as bullpen aids shaky Noah Syndergaard in Mets’ win over Phillies
Hansel Robles of the Mets pitches in the top of the seventh inning against the Phillies at Citi Field on Wednesday. Credit: Errol Anderson
Hansel Robles was booed before he had even thrown a pitch this season.
Unsurprisingly, people’s memories last longer than the baseball offseason, so when Robles took the mound in the seventh inning of Wednesday afternoon’s game against the Phillies, the smattering of Mets fans who braved the rain and the wind voiced their displeasure. Their sentiments were a relic of last year, when Robles struggled mightily, but part of the reaction was understandable. After all, this fan base has been through a lot, and for two years their pessimism has been validated.
But hey, haven’t you heard? It’s a new era in Flushing.
Robles, who fell apart in the second half of last season and suffered all through spring training, struck out the side in the 4-2 win. He also left to cheers. What’s more, he was part of an overall bullpen effort that seemed to introduce a whole new look to a Mets team that has lived and died with its starting pitching.
Don’t worry, that’s still largely the case, but in the last two games, the Mets have proven they can survive on less-than-immaculate starters. On Tuesday, it was Seth Lugo bailing out Matt Harvey. Wednesday, it was Robert Gsellman who threw two perfect innings, picking up Noah Syndergaard who was pulled after four innings and 92 pitches. Robles and Gsellman, along with AJ Ramos and Jeurys Familia, combined for five scoreless innings, and Yoenis Cespedes (two-run homer) and Amed Rosario ( two-run triple) provided the offense.
“I just want to change people’s minds,” said Robles, who had an ERA of 15.43 last April and 7.30 in September and October. “That’s why I’m working very hard to do my best.”
Added Syndergaard, in his vernacular: “A lot of kudos and thanks to my homies in the bullpen. They really held down the fort . . . It just adds more confidence to us at a team.”
Syndergaard allowed two runs, four hits and two walks, with seven strikeouts. Gsellman struck out three and walked none, to pave the way for Robles (and the legion of naysayers). In fact, for a minute there, it seemed as if the only people who did believe in the beleaguered righthander were Mickey Callaway and pitching coach Dave Eiland. Robles was sent to the Vegas 51s after posting a spring training ERA of 9.26, but was called back up after an injury to Anthony Swarzak.
“It’s tough when you’re trying to make a team to totally commit [to changes],” Callaway said of Robles. “When we sent him down, he totally committed. The reports that we got from the minor league guys that saw him pitch said he was lights out, he was working on everything we asked him to do and that gave him the confidence to put him in today . . . I’m really proud of him.”
On Wednesday, the Mets went ahead early on Cespedes’ first-inning homer, his second of the year. And apparently, he’s still not at his best.
“I’ve been lucky to hit two home runs over five games,” Cespedes said through an interpreter, “but honestly, we’ve had a few days off and my timing is still a little bit lost.”
The Phillies tied the game in a strange sequence in the third. With one out and runners on second and third, Nick Williams’ groundout brought home Cesar Hernandez to cut the Mets’ lead to one. Rhys Hoskins then walked and attempted to steal second. A pitchout got him caught in a rundown. First baseman Adrian Gonzalez, after attempting a tag, threw home instead. Carlos Santana was safe with the tying run, and though the Mets said that Hoskins came off the basepath trying to evade the tag, the play was non-reviewable.
It was the type of crummy fortune that could have undone the Mets in the past — especially because it ramped up Syndergaard’s pitch count — but not this time. The Mets went back ahead in the sixth, when Rosario tripled over the head of Williams, playing extremely shallow in right, which drove in Asdrubal Cabrera and Wilmer Flores, who had both walked.
And that’s when Robles came in to shut it down.
Just like nobody expected.
Laura Albanese is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. She's been covering MLB since 2014 after starting at Newsday as an intern seven years earlier.
