David Robertson said Saturday afternoon that he couldn’t remember the last time he got two double-play grounders in the same outing.
It also seems like Robertson and his New York Mets teammates can’t remember the last time they won a series.
The Mets will look to earn that long-awaited series win Sunday afternoon when they visit the Philadelphia Phillies for the finale of a three-game set between the longtime National League East rivals.
Carlos Carrasco (2-3, 6.34 ERA) is slated to start for the Mets against fellow right-hander Zack Wheeler (6-4, 3.48).
The Mets snapped a three-game losing streak Saturday afternoon, when Max Scherzer tossed six solid innings and Robertson induced a pair of double plays while recording the final five outs of a 4-2 victory.
Robertson — who has made 760 appearances (one start) in his major league career — relieved Adam Ottavino and got Bryson Stott to hit into an inning-ending double play in the eighth. Brandon Marsh singled with one out in the ninth against Robertson, who needed just two pitches to induce Josh Harrison to hit into another double play.
“I don’t think I’ve ever had two double plays in a game — not even in high school,” Robertson said. “Couple balls went right to where I needed them to go. Escaped with a win.”
The skidding Mets will accept a win achieved in any fashion. New York, which won 101 games last season, has gone 6-14 this month to fall into a tie for 11th place in the NL with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The Mets haven’t won a series since sweeping a three-game set from the Phillies in New York from May 30 through June 1.
“We’ve got a good team. Just got to go out there and do it, starting with (Saturday). Move on to (Sunday), hopefully we can take a series,” Robertson said. “It’s been a minute, so it’d be nice for us to get one and head back to New York in front of the home crowd and see if we can continue it.”
This month has been far more pleasant for the Phillies, who have gone 14-7 to surge past the Mets into third place in the NL East. Following the sweep by New York, Philadelphia won five straight series before dropping both games of a rain-shortened, two-game set against the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday and Thursday.
But Saturday’s loss to the Mets continued a recent and worrisome trend for the Phillies, who have been limited to three runs or fewer in five of their last six games. Philadelphia ranks 21st in the majors with 330 runs scored after finishing seventh in the bigs with 747 runs last season.
“Those numbers, I think, will change because we have power and we’ll score runs,” Philadelphia manager Rob Thomson said of the Phillies, whose roster features five players who have hit at least 25 homers in a season.
Carrasco didn’t factor into the decision in his most recent start last Sunday, when he gave up six runs (five earned) over three innings in the Mets’ 8-7 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals. He is 3-1 with a 3.32 ERA in five career games (three starts) against the Phillies.
Wheeler earned the win last Sunday after tossing six scoreless innings as the Phillies beat the Oakland Athletics 3-2. He is 4-4 with a 3.29 ERA in 12 career starts against the Mets, for whom he pitched for from 2013 to 2019.
–Field Level Media