Inside The Mets

Carlos Carrasco Throws Gem As Mets Pass First True Test Of Regular Season

Carlos Carrasco threw a gem as the Mets passed their first true test of the regular season with a series victory over the Giants.

Pat Ragazzo

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NEW YORK -- The Mets passed their first true test of the regular season. 

On Thursday afternoon, the Mets took the series finale from the San Francisco Giants by a score of 6-2. 

New York capped off a 5-2 home stand by taking three out of four games from a Giants team that won 107 games a year ago.

Starting pitcher Carlos Carrasco continued his redemption tour in what was his best outing in a Mets uniform. Carrasco went 7.2 innings on 91 pitches (61 strikes), allowing two earned runs, while striking out seven and issuing no walks. After allowing three straight base runners in the second inning, the 35-year-old switched into cruise control, setting down 18 batters in a row. 

Carrasco now holds a 1.47 ERA through his first three starts of the season. The Mets' rotation holds a 2.10 ERA through 14 games, which is the best mark in baseball. 

The Giants jumped all over Tylor Megill and Chris Bassitt in this series for nine runs due to an aggressive approach. So after seeing this game plan across the first three contests of the series, Carrasco made the proper adjustments with catcher Tomas Nido in preparation of Thursday's start. 

"The way they were attacking our pitches, so I went back and looked at video and talked to (Tomas) Nido," Carrasco said of his start. "We did the opposite today."

After an injury riddled 2021 campaign, Carrasco is more than just bouncing back. Now that he's healthy, he looks like the dominant pitcher he was in Cleveland.

“That’s a really good lineup," manager Buck Showalter said of the Giants. "You see a guy be successful in the third time through the order, he has a lot of weapons behind him on that day.”

“The pedigree’s there, the want to is there," Showalter said. "Everybody close to Carlos says he cares so much. I think he’s in a good spot, physically, mentally, and emotionally. Let’s face it, the big thing is that he’s healthy. I think we all know what Carlos is capable of when he’s healthy.”

After a sluggish evening in Wednesday night's 5-2 loss, the Mets' offense woke up, scoring five runs off Giants starter Anthony DeSclafani across the first three innings of play.

Francisco Lindor belted his fourth home run of the season into the second deck in right field to kickstart the Mets' offensive attack in this contest. Lindor recorded his first three hit game of the season and fourth multi-hit game overall in 2022. The $341 million-man looks like a different player than the shortstop, who struggled in his first campaign in Queens in 2021.

Newcomer Eduardo Escobar, the team's leader in WAR, slugged his first home run as a Met in the bottom of the second to extend the lead to 2-0. 

The Mets' timely hitting with two outs and runners in scoring position was also on full display yet again. New York got runners on second-and-third with nobody out in the bottom of the third after a Lindor single and Jeff McNeil double, but the next two batters were unable to cash in. However, Mark Canha, who returned from the COVID-19 IL a day ago, came through with a clutch single to plate two more runs, extending the lead to 5-1. 

With the Mets up four runs, Brandon Nimmo made the score 6-2 with an RBI single in the bottom of the eighth, and that score would stand. 

New York became the first team in baseball to reach 10 wins and are a major-league best 10-4 to begin the year. They matched their season-opening 5-2 road trip with an identical record on their first home stand of the season. The Mets will now head out west for a three-game series with the Arizona Diamondbacks, before stopping in St. Louis to take on the Cardinals in the final three games of a six-game road trip. 

Above all else, the Mets, who beat up on the Nationals, Phillies and Diamondbacks, passed their first true test by taking three out of four games from the reigning NL West Champion Giants. The same Giants club that rolled into Queens on a five-game winning streak, only to get smacked down by a surging Mets team. New York has won each of their first four series this season. 

"We are the New York Mets," Lindor said after the Mets' series victory. "We've got a good team."

Read More:

- Taijuan Walker Nearing Return To Mets' Rotation But Team May Have To Wait A Bit Longer

- How Francisco Lindor Is Embracing The Mets In Year-Two

- Mets Manager Buck Showalter Will Miss Wednesday's Game Due To Medical Procedure

Follow Pat Ragazzo on Twitter (@ragazzoreport), be sure to bookmark Inside The Mets and check back daily for news, analysis and more.

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Pat Ragazzo
PAT RAGAZZO

Pat Ragazzo is the reporter, publisher, site manager and executive editor for Sports Illustrated's Mets and Yankees On SI websites. Pat was selected as The Top Reporter & Publisher of the Year 2024 by the International Association of Top Professionals (IAOTP) for outstanding leadership, dedication, and commitment to the industry. He has been seen on several major TV Network stations including: NBC4, CBS2, FOX5, PIX11 and NY1; and is frequently heard on ESPN New York FM 880 AM and WFAN Sports Radio 101.9 FM as a guest. Pat also serves as the Mets insider for the "Allow Me 2 Be Frank" podcast hosted by Frank "The Tank" Fleming of Barstool Sports. You can follow him on Twitter/X: @ragazzoreport.

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