Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports
With eight games remaining in the regular season and holding on to a one-game lead over Atlanta, the Mets sent Carlos Carrasco to the mound Tuesday night to face a frail Marlins lineup. Carrasco did the Mets no favors and allowed four earned runs in three innings. The Mets played from behind the rest of the night and eventually lost to the fourth-place Marlins by the score of 6-4.
The ill performance by Carrasco was unusual by his standards, as the right-hander has pitched to an ERA of 2.14 against non-playoff teams. However, the right-hander hasn’t looked sharp against Major League Baseball’s best teams and owns an ERA of 6.71 against playoff teams this season.
Carrasco’s poor start on Tuesday raises questions in regards to how the Mets’ rotation will look in October. With Jacob deGrom, Max Scherzer, and Chris Bassitt locking down the first three rotation spots, the Mets will have a plethora of options for their final spot if they advance past the Wild Card round of the playoffs.
Taijuan Walker is the obvious answer and most probable starter to take Carrasco’s spot in the playoff rotation. The second year Met is having another fine season and has pitched to an ERA of 3.53 in 27 starts. The glaring issue with Walker is his durability due to his injury history. Walker has struggled again in the second half and has given up 10 home runs in 56 1/3 innings since the all-star break.
The Mets could also get creative with Trevor Williams, David Peterson, and Tylor Megill all currently in the bullpen, but have been starters and are capable of going multiple innings if the Mets want to simply use multiple pitchers for two-to-three innings to begin a game.
While the Mets will have an important decision to make come playoff time, their focus will be on winning the division. After Tuesday’s loss to the Marlins, the Mets and Braves are tied for first in the National League East. With seven games remaining in the regular season, and three against each other, the Mets find themselves in another nail-biting finish to the last game. The Mets will be in good company, as they will send out deGrom, Scherzer, and Bassitt against the home run slugging Braves.
