The Mets’ performance on Sunday would have left anyone with a negative impression and starter Carlos Carrasco didn’t help his cause or the teams during his start on national television. Starting off, in the first inning of Sunday’s game against the Red Sox, he found himself in a peculiar situation. While covering an unoccupied third base, he had a collision with Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran after a throw from Pete Alonso hit off Carrasco’s glove and went behind him, causing the collision with Duran. Thankfully, Carrasco didn’t suffer any serious injury and received attention from a trainer.

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Despite the incident, Carrasco continued in the game. However, his outing only lasted for another two innings before he was eventually taken out. Allowing 10 hits in just 2 ⅓ innings, the Mets ended up losing 6-1 to the Red Sox. During the third inning, Carrasco faced a tough challenge as the Red Sox tagged him six consecutive times, resulting in a total of 10 hits throughout the game. Along with walking two batters, he gave up five runs, and, fortunately, the Sox made several outs on the bases; otherwise, the damage could have been even worse.

“The problem was I was getting behind in the count,” Carrasco said. “I have just got to go throw strikes.”

Sunday marked Carrasco’s 14th start of the season, and his ERA stood at 5.35 before the game began. With a record of 3-3 going into the final game of the series against the Red Sox, the Mets were hoping for a better outcome. Out of the 14 starts Carrasco has made this season, it was the fifth time in which he conceded five or more earned runs.

Following the loss, the Mets find themselves in a rather bleak position in the standings. Carrasco’s poor start on Sunday, adding to a subpar season, has accelerated the hole the Mets have seemed to dig themselves in. With a record of 46-53 on Sunday, they are 18.5 games behind the first-place Atlanta Braves in the National League East. The remaining six games before the August 1 trade deadline present a challenging scenario, and even if the Mets were to win all of them, they would still be below the .500 mark.

This only emphasizes the urgency for team officials to consider a sell-off mode if they haven’t already. Since the All-Star break, the Mets have struggled, losing five out of nine games. If the team decides to sell, Carrasco could be a trade candidate for a contending team willing to take a chance on a back-end rotation starter. For the time being, the Mets are taking a wait-and-watch approach, but at this rate, this method won’t last much longer. As the losses accumulate, it’s becoming clearer to many around the team which direction they might be heading, and that direction seems to involve selling and selling a lot.