Carlos Carrasco Tossed Seven Strong Innings

The 2021 season has been a struggle from the beginning for Mets starter Carlos Carrasco, but he finally got his chance to shine on Thursday night against the Giants.

The veteran right-hander came into the start having allowed 13 runs in eight innings over his previous three starts. In just his sixth start of the season following a hamstring injury, Carrasco looked like he might have another early exit.

Giants’ right fielder LaMonte Wade Jr. kicked off the game with a single and two batters later third baseman Kris Bryant took Carrasco deep. Carrasco and the Mets were in another early deficit, 2-0 to the Giants.

Carrasco worked a 1-2-3 second inning with a strikeout and worked around a Tommy La Stella double in the third to toss another scoreless inning. From there, Carrasco was on cruise control, retiring the last 14 batters he faced to finish out seven innings of two-run ball.

His final line is impressive: 7 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, 78 pitches/55 strikes

The former Cleveland pitcher finally gave the Mets a glimpse of exactly what they thought they were getting in their offseason blockbuster that also included shortstop Francisco Lindor. Despite the great start, the Mets lost another close game, 3-2 to end their miserable stretch of 13 games vs the Dodgers and Giants.

Carrasco’s season ERA lowered to 6.94 on the season and his strikeout to walk ratio in now 23-to-4 in 23 1/3 innings.

Fellow MMO writer Matt Musico wrote an article that published before Carrasco’s start on Thursday talking about the lack of curveball usage from Carlos in 2021. Carrasco had used his curveball a grand total of four times this season before Thursday night when he used it 11 times. It turned out to be a very important pitch in the outing with five whiffs on seven swings.

After Bryant homered off Carrasco in the first inning on a slider, Carlos shifted to the curve to get Bryant to strikeout swinging in his next two at-bats. Impressive adjustment made by a struggling veteran that will certainly be worth monitoring the rest of the season.

Another key note from the start was the uptick in four-seamer fastball velocity. During his previous start, Carrasco averaged just 93.4 mph with a max of 95.0 mph on the pitch, but on Thursday the four-seamer had an average of 94.6 mph and max of 96.2 mph.

It’s important to remember that the Mets were so desperate to get Carrasco into a beleaguered rotation that he didn’t have a typical rehab assignment –only 6 2/3 innings over three starts– for a pitcher that was on the injured list since the beginning of Spring.

“I missed three months. Getting back to normal, it took me time,” Carrasco said. “I’ve been working so hard to get to this point… This is the way that I want to be.”

The next start for Carrasco will come next week as the Mets host the Marlins at Citi Field.