Carlos Carrasco earned back some trust with latest win

Carlos Carrasco had looked broken until Sunday’s start. Was it masterful? Not in the least. The veteran New York Mets pitcher went 5.2 innings, struck out 8, and gave up only a solo home run for the lone blip in the team’s 4-1 victory.

June was a rough month for Carrasco. In his previous four starts, he had failed to get out of the fifth in all but his victory against the Miami Marlins. The Los Angeles Angels and the Houston Astros (twice!) did a whole lot of damage to Carrasco’s ERA that launched up from the mid-3.00s to the upper 4.00s.

Mets pitcher Carlos Carrasco has re-entered the circle of trust

Let’s allow Carrasco back into the circle of trust. He isn’t allowed to grab a seat and get cozy just yet. He can, though, join in on the conversation.

Carrasco’s poor 2021 campaign made him an easy target for Mets fans this year to have little faith in him. A strong start to 2022 had doubters thinking otherwise.

One concern does remain with Carrasco. Five times he has not gone beyond the fifth. He has gotten rocked by a variety of really good and really bad teams. Oddly enough, four of his worst starts came versus American League West clubs. It’s probably all just a coincidence. Right before the Angels embarrassed him, he threw 7 innings and allowed only 2 runs while striking out 10 in a victory on the road versus the San Diego Padres.

Sustainability, as it is with Taijuan Walker, is a question for Carrasco. He has a lot of miles on his arm. Will he be able to go the distance and pitch for the Mets all year?

The Mets should have an openness to making some atypical pitching decisions like bringing in another starter and moving one of the current guys into a bullpen role. With this in mind, Carrasco would be a candidate but to replace whom? Trevor Williams makes sense yet his own success at flipping between starting and relieving might be far too valuable.

Carrasco has more to prove. Now 9-4 with a 4.64 ERA, his season numbers look lopsided and more like a bad pitcher on a good team than a quality one for one of the best.

Preferably, Carrasco is less dominant and more consistently average. If every time out he gave them six innings and allowed 3 runs, the Mets would be in better shape than some of his other recent outings. But let’s take Sunday’s performance for what it was—a promising turn back in the right direction.