Through two turns of the Mets’ starting rotation, there is already an abundance of questions involving the viability of Carlos Carrasco.
On Sunday, the veteran right-hander was shelled again against the Miami Marlins, yielding six earned runs in just 4.2 innings pitched while allowing a pair of home runs to go with three walks and just one strikeout.
It was hardly the follow-up the Mets wanted to see from Carrasco, who was thumped for five runs in four innings in his season debut against the Brewers in Milwaukee.
The remedy for his issues appears clear to manager Buck Showalter, who pointed at Carrasco’s changeup as the pitch that has let him down the most — and is his key to picking things back up.
“That’s a big pitch for him,” Showalter said after the Mets’ 7-2 loss on Sunday. “He just hasn’t had a real good grasp of where it’s going to be. He’ll be better.”
But Carrasco also struggled with his slider, which was taken out of the park twice on Sunday by Marlins batters.
“That’s one of the main pitches that I have. I’m trying to find it,” Carrasco said. “I’m just trying to get it back because I need it. I really need it.”
On top of the ineffective secondary pitches, the 36-year-old’s fastball velocity continues to hover around 91 mph, which is nearly 3 mph slower than his career average.
Carrasco maintains that he feels fine and that there is no cause for alarm in the dip in velocity.
“I feel really good right now,” he said. “I think the more important thing right now is just giving the team an opportunity to win some games. That’s all I care about right now.”
The Mets have no other choice right now but to hope things will turn around for Carrasco, who possesses an 11.42 ERA through two starts. He went 15-7 with a 3.97 ERA last season. Justin Verlander is working his way back from a shoulder strain and while Tylor Megill has stepped in admirably, David Peterson has struggled with six earned runs in nine innings across two starts.
