– by Adesina O. Koiki
A Lot of Sports Talk editor-in-chief
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NEW YORK — Unlike many New York residents, Mets starting pitcher Carlos Carrasco was not rattled by any and all of the traffic he had to navigate on Tuesday, finding the right escape route each time to produce one of his best starts in his Major League career — and continue of the best starts the Mets have ever had to any season.
Carrasco went eight scoreless innings, using his changeup to get timely ground balls and strikeouts, as the Mets swept a doubleheader from Atlanta, winning the nightcap 3-0. Dominic Smith had a two-run single in the first and Pete Alonso smacked his fifth run of the season to provide all the offense necessary for Carrasco and Seth Lugo, who retired the side in the night to close the game for the Mets.
It was impossible to detect at the time, but Carrasco’s first inning of the evening proved to be a harbinger. Ronald Acuña Jr., who sat out the first game for Atlanta, doubled to left to begin the game and advanced to third when the next better, Matt Olson, moved Acuña Jr. over on a ground out. From there, Carrasco struck out Austin Riley and forced Marcell Ozuna to ground out back to Carrasco to end the threat.
Atlanta got the lead-off man on base in four of the first eight innings, but could not push home any of those runners — or any player in general — as each of Carrasco’s five strikeouts came with runners in scoring position. Atlanta finished the game 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position, with all of the at-bats coming against Carrasco.
Carrasco’s eight innings was his first start of at least eight innings since September 7, 2018, as a member of Cleveland, and his start tonight allowed him to become the first pitcher in 2022 with multiple starts of at least 7 2/3 innings pitched.
Atlanta starter Kyle Wright was overshadowed by Carrasco’s brilliance, yet he also produced a quality start, going seven innings while allowing nine hits and three runs and striking out three. Coming into tonight, Wright had only allowed three runs combined in his first four starts as he jumped out to a 3-0 mark.
*Editor’s note: Above the byline is the photo gallery from Tuesday’s second game, with all photos taken by ALOST senior photographer Robert Cole. After clicking on the first photo to enlarge the picture, make sure to press the left and right arrow buttons to scroll through the rest of the pictures. There are 23 pictures in total.
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