Jessica Alcheh-USA TODAY Sports
Carlos Carrasco has drastically improved in his first inning command this season. In 2021, the right-hander had a tendency of giving up a fair amount of runs to start games. Now that he is past the hamstring and elbow problems, Carrasco is back to being an effective pitcher for this Mets rotation.
Last season, injuries delayed the debut of Carrasco in a Mets uniform until July 30 against the Cincinnati Reds. On the first pitch of that game, infielder Jonathan India hit a home run to left field. That was just the start of the first inning issues of the 35-year-0ld pitcher. He gave up 18 earned runs in 12 first innings in 2021. Carrasco allowed at least one run to score in the first inning in 10 of those starts.
In comparison, his numbers for the 2022 season in the first inning are much improved. Carrasco has only given up two earned runs in 10 opening innings this season. He has only allowed at least one run to score in the first inning of two starts, one of which was his first outing of the year against the Washington Nationals back on April 10th. Carrasco has not given up a run in the first inning since April 27 against the St. Louis Cardinals.
Carrasco was able to keep that good run of form going in the first inning of his start against the Nationals on Wednesday afternoon. The pitcher was able to retire middle infielder César Hernández and outfielder Juan Soto before walking designated hitter Nelson Cruz. Carrasco finished the inning by getting first baseman Josh Bell to ground out to third base.
His outing against the Nationals was a special one for more than what he was able to do on the field. Luis Carrasco, Carlos’s father, was in attendance for his son’s start at Citi Field. That was the first time he had the chance to see him pitch in person. “When I struck out [Hernandez] with the bases loaded, he was so happy. I was trying to do my best and give the best I can to my dad,” Carlos said.
Through ten starts, Carrasco is 6-1 with a 3.63 ERA in 57 innings of work. Anytime the Mets starter has runners on base, it always seems like he is just a ground ball away from escaping trouble. His improvement in navigating through the first inning shows that he is capable now that he is fully healthy. If Carrasco can continue to pitch at this level, especially in the absence of Tylor Megill, Jacob deGrom, and Max Scherzer, the Mets rotation is going to be in great shape moving forward.
