Sep 4, 2022; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets pitcher Carlos Carrasco (59) walks off the mound after being taken out of the game in the third inning against the Washington Nationals at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports
The Mets activated Carlos Carrasco off of the 15-day injured list on Sunday (oblique strain). It was not the ideal start that Carrasco would’ve hoped for, however, as he struggled hard on Sunday afternoon. The right-handed pitcher lasted just 2.2 innings before Buck Showalter turned the game over to right-handed pitcher Trevor Williams in the third inning.
Carrasco gave up five runs, just one earned, on six hits and two walks in 2.2 innings pitched. He struck out two on 54 pitches thrown (36 for strikes). Carrasco fell to 13-6 after taking the loss and lowered his ERA to 3.91.
Carrasco’s struggles started early as mentioned above. He gave up back-to-back lead-off hits to the Nationals in the first. Lane Thomas opened the game with a double to left field on a 1-1 pitch to start the Nationals’ offensive spark. Luis Garcia followed with a single to center field that allowed Thomas to score. Carrasco got out of further trouble retiring the next two he faced to retire the side.
Carrasco appeared like he was settling in in the second. He retired three of the four he faced and gave up his first walk of the day.
Things unraveled for Carrasco in the third. After a quick out of Victor Robles, Thomas collected his second hit of the day, a single to left field with one out. Garcia then reached on a fielder’s choice. Thomas advanced to second on a defensive fielding error by Jeff McNeil at second. Joey Meneses then followed with a single to left field to load the bases.
Carrasco then got a big strike out of Luke Voit for the second out of the inning, however he then gave up a single to Ruiz that scored Thomas and Garcia as the Nationals extended their lead to 3-1 over the Mets in the third. Carrasco then walked Cesar Hernandez to re-load the bases and was followed by a single by Ildemaro Vargas to left field that scored Meneses and Ruiz, making it 5-1 Nationals over the Mets.
Vargas was the last batter Carrasco faced as Williams then came in to replace him on the mound and get the final out to get the Mets out of further trouble.
This was not the start the Mets were looking for from Carrasco, or the start he was looking to have fresh off of the injured list. With Scherzer exiting early on Friday, Carrasco’s struggle Sunday puts up a worry sign for the Mets heading into the final weeks of the season. With their also recent struggles at the plate, the Mets need their pitching staff to keep the runs down and their defense to play clean and not make costly errors.
