As the Mets left Miami, there was plenty to feel good about. They just took three of four from the Marlins and did it in a convincing manner. The rotation, bullpen, and defense were crisp, and the offense threw in some timely hitting. New York’s final road trip before their home opener began Monday afternoon with Carlos Carrasco making his season debut.
It didn’t start off well, as he was given a pitch-clock violation before even throwing his first pitch:
Carlos Carrasco receives a pitch clock violation before he throws his first pitch of the season pic.twitter.com/jfZFuYb38N
— SNY (@SNYtv) April 3, 2023
He came back to strike out Christian Yelich in that at-bat. But then, there was another issue for Carrasco, as his PitchCom wasn’t working:
Carlos Carrasco has PitchCom issues, which leads to Gary and Keith having some fun with it ? pic.twitter.com/ADtGDMaOR8
— SNY (@SNYtv) April 3, 2023
The right-hander escaped without allowing a run. Carrasco tossed two shutout innings to begin his day before things got hairy. He allowed three runs between the third and the fourth. Then, the veteran hurler went out to start the fifth despite some diminished velocity (that nobody is concerned about at the moment). That’s when the wheels fell off.
Carrasco walked two to begin the frame, which led to him getting yanked in favor of Tommy Hunter. It got worse, as he allowed an RBI single, a pair of walks, another RBI single, and then a grand slam. Just like that, it went from a manageable 3-0 deficit to a 10-0 blowout.
The final line on Carlos Carrasco wasn’t great. He lasted four-plus innings while allowing five runs on four hits, four walks, and four strikeouts. After one 2023 start, his ERA is sitting at 11.25. That’s not how he hoped to begin his third season with the Mets. However, with him getting the start at American Family Field, this outcome isn’t surprising when looking at his recent performances there:
Welp…..FWIW…..I suppose this isnt all that surprising.
Carlos Carrasco at MIL the last 3 starts
2021: 4.0 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 4 BB, 3 K
2022: 4.0 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
2023: 4.0 IP, 4 H, 5 ER, 4 BB, 4 K— Christopher Soto (@SotoC803) April 3, 2023
No — we shouldn’t be surprised. However, it would’ve been nice to see him buck this trend, right? It’s not like he had to go out there and toss a perfect game to be effective.
Between pitching in a park he hasn’t had a ton of recent success at while obviously still getting acclimated to the pitch clock, it just wasn’t a good day for Carlos Carrasco. But let’s not just think he’s cooked after one tough start.
This is still a guy who won 15 games with a 3.97 ERA while tossing 152 innings. He won’t perform at Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander levels, but nobody is expecting that. He should still have enough left in the tank to be a solid contributor in the fifth spot of New York’s rotation. Let’s just hope his next start is better than this one.
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You can reach Matt Musico at matt.musico@xlmedia.com. You can follow him on Twitter: @mmusico8.
