By Matt Rappa, Sports Talk Philly editor 
FLUSHING, N.Y. — Behind right-hander Vince Velasquez, the Philadelphia Phillies (5-8) will look for continued success as they oppose RHP Robert Gsellman and the New York Mets (7-7) Wednesday evening at Citi Field.
In the series opener on Tuesday, the Phillies came out on top in a 6-2 extra-innings victory. A two-out fielding error by Mets third baseman Jose Reyes on a routine pop up in the eighth led to a game-tying RBI double by pinch-hitter Andres Blanco. Shortstop Freddy Galvis could have advanced past first on Reyes' misplay, which thus prevented him from later scoring the go-ahead run once Blanco's hit was ruled a ground-rule double. Five singles in the 10th by Michael Saunders, Tommy Joseph, Galvis, Aaron Altherr and Daniel Nava resulted in four runs and would be more than enough to secure the Phillies' fifth victory of the season.
A win Wednesday in the middle of the three-game set would snap the Phillies' six-game series skid against their division rival.
Starting Pitching Matchup:
| Philadelphia Phillies (5-8) | New York Mets (7-7) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RHP | Vince Velasquez | RHP | Robert Gsellman | ||
| (0-2, 9.00 ERA) | (0-1, 9.28 ERA) | ||||
Velasquez Career vs. NYM: 1-2, 3.54 ERA, 20 1/3 IP, 18 H, 11 R, 8 ER, 3 HR, 8 BB, 27 SO, 1.279 WHIP
Velasquez's 17.00 strikeouts per nine innings pitched ratio is 13th-best among all Major League pitchers.
The right-hander's stats do not yet qualify, however, as he has only thrown nine innings this season through two starts. In his last start on April 12 against the Mets, Velasquez surrendered five runs on five hits and four walks spanning five innings. Velasquez allowed four runs in as many innings in his season debut, April 7 against the Washington Nationals.
Gsellman Career vs. PHI: 2-1, 2.37 ERA, 19 IP, 17 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 0 HR, 4 BB, 20 SO, 1.105 WHIP
The Phillies are just one of five teams Gsellman has faced thus far through 11 career appearances, the others being the Atlanta Braves, Miami Marlins, Washington Nationals and St. Louis Cardinals.
In his last start — April 13 in Miami — the 23-year-old surrendered a career-high eight runs through just 4 2/3 innings. Overall this season, Gsellman has yielded 11 runs on 13 hits, five walks and 13 strikeouts spanning 10 2/3 innings.
Starting Lineups:
| Philadelphia Phillies (5-8) | New York Mets (7-7) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Player | Bats | Position | Player | Bats | ||
| 1 | 2B | Cesar Hernandez | S | 1 | CF | Curtis Granderson | L |
| 2 | LF | Aaron Altherr | R | 2 | SS | Asdrubal Cabrera | S |
| 3 | CF | Odubel Herrera | L | 3 | LF | Yoenis Cespedes | R |
| 4 | 3B | Maikel Franco | R | 4 | RF | Jay Bruce | L |
| 5 | RF | Michael Saunders | L | 5 | 2B | Neil Walker | S |
| 6 | 1B | Tommy Joseph | R | 6 | 1B | Lucas Duda | L |
| 7 | C | Cameron Rupp | R | 7 | 3B | Jose Reyes | S |
| 8 | SS | Freddy Galvis | S | 8 | C | Travis d'Arnaud | R |
| 9 | P | Vince Velasquez | R | 9 | P | Robert Gsellman | R |
Broadcast Information:
- First pitch: 7:10 p.m.
- TV: CSN
- Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
Game Notes:
- The Phillies have lost 10 of Velasquez's last 11 starts dating back to July 19 of last season. In 61 1/3 innings during that stretch, Velasquez is 0-6 with a 5.87 ERA and 76 strikeouts.
- Phillies second baseman Cesar Hernandez has hit safely in 11 straight games, tied with Milwaukee Brewers 1B/OF Eric Thames for second-longest active hitting streak in baseball. Hernandez is batting .388/.434/.612 over this stretch with 12 runs, 19 hits, two home runs, seven RBIs and four walks through 49 at-bats.
- The Phillies' .993 fielding percentage is the second-best among all teams this season, committing only three errors (Maikel Franco, Hernandez and Cameron Rupp) through 1,041 innings. The club has fielded the fourth-fewest combined innings, however, 177 less than the leading Mets.
What's Next:
- Thursday, April 20, 2017: at New York Mets, 7:10 p.m.
- Citi Field
- RHP Aaron Nola (1-0, 3.27 ERA) vs. RHP Noah Syndergaard (1-0, 0.95 ERA)
- TV: CSN; Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
