With Carlos Carrasco on the injured list, the Mets have an opening in the back of their starting rotation. On Wednesday night, José Butto made his first start since being called up when the rosters expanded on September 1. The Mets’ no. 28 prospect according to MMO, took a shutout into the seventh inning in the 3-2 loss to the Nationals.

Butto had the best start of his MLB career on Wednesday, holding the Nationals to just two runs on six hits and a walk over 6 1/3 innings. After throwing six scoreless innings, the right-hander returned for the seventh inning. He allowed two singles and was lifted for Trevor Gott, who allowed both inherited runners to score. His first MLB win was in sight before the Mets’ bullpen faltered down the stretch.

When Butto made his two starts in April, he struggled with command. Despite managing to limit the damage to just three runs in his 9 2/3 innings over his first two starts, he allowed 10 walks over those two starts. He allowed four walks in his first start of the season, then followed with six walks in his next start. Butto managed to avoid those control issues on Wednesday, allowing just one two-out walk in what was by far the longest outing of his MLB career.

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“He stayed in attack mode,” Buck Showalter said of his starting pitcher’s ability to limit free passes. “That was as much as much as you could expect him to do.”

Limiting walks was a clear area of improvement for Butto, but that is not the only he had going for him in his start on Wednesday. Along with his improved control, he had an uptick in velocity that helped him wrack up his career-high six strikeouts. His average fastball velocity was up 1.3 mph from its yearly average, and his slider was up 1.4 mph.

Butto cruised through his first six innings of work. Despite not having a 1-2-3 inning until the sixth inning, he did not find himself in much trouble. He only allowed one base runner in each of the first five innings, and both of the runners who made it into scoring position did not get there until there were already two outs in the inning.

The Mets will have plenty of options to complete the rotation over the season’s final month. They have given Joey Lucchesi and Denyi Reyes opportunities to start. They have Mike Vasil waiting in Triple-A. Wednesday’s performance from Butto should earn him another start in the big leagues.

“To see him make that type of contribution, that was good to see,” Showalter said. “It bodes well for him and hopefully for us.”