Mets riding contributions from rookie starters

MIAMI — As the 2015 Mets steamed toward the postseason, it seemed their pitching grew stronger by the week. Matt Harvey and Jacob deGrom, each carrying ace credentials, were in top form heading into October. Something clicked for Noah Syndergaard, a midseason callup, late in the year. Another rookie, Steven Matz, grew healthier as the Mets entered postseason play.

Things could hardly be less similar this autumn, with Harvey, deGrom and Matz all done for the season. Their surgeries ensure that regardless of how the Mets handle Syndergaard and Bartolo Colon — and there’s plenty of potential shuffling still to come — they will proceed into October with two unheralded rookies in their rotation.

• Wild Card standings

It’s not an ideal scenario. But considering how well Seth Lugo and Robert Gsellman have pitched, it’s no longer something the Mets fear.

“They’ve gotten us through two months of no Harvey, no deGrom, no Matz,” manager Terry Collins said. “They’ve gotten us to this point.”

Gsellman, a 13th-round pick in the 2011 Draft whose two-seam fastball has allowed him to coax ground balls at an elite rate, has been responsible for some of the Mets’ best starting-pitching performances in September — including seven shutout …

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