Carrasco's tweaked mechanics lead to rebound for Mets

NEW YORK -- The next seven weeks are important for right-hander Carlos Carrasco. He is set to be a free agent after the season, needing to show the Mets and, potentially, other suitors that he can be consistent on the mound.

That hasn’t been the case for most of a season featuring injuries and inconsistency. Carrasco had a 6.60 ERA entering Tuesday’s action against the Cubs, having allowed 21 earned runs in his past 15 1/3 innings.

But on Tuesday night at Citi Field, Carrasco had his best outing in over a month, coming out of the game with a no-decision as the Mets lost to Chicago, 3-2.

Carrasco knew he was going to have a good outing based on the bullpen session he had before the game, where he figured out that he had to change his mechanics.

“I think it was my arm," Carrasco said. "It was getting too short. Today, I was able to get the arm a little bit longer. I feel under control just doing that. I was working in the bullpen before the game. I could see a little progress there.”

The mechanics appeared to be fixed. Carrasco pitched five innings, allowed two runs on three hits and struck out five batters. He was cruising through the first three innings, retiring nine out of the 10 hitters he faced after walking Mike Tauchman to start the game.

By that time, Carrasco had been working with a 2-0 lead after Pete Alonso hit a two-run homer over the center-field fence in the first for his 34th home run of the season. It was Alonso's fifth home run against the Cubs this season, more than he has against any other team in 2023.

But Carrasco was unable to retain the lead. Cody Bellinger made it a one-run game in the fourth when he homered over the right-field wall.

“On the homer right there, I tried to throw a changeup low in the zone, but it came back in the middle, so he just got me right there,” Carrasco said.

An inning later, after leading off with a walk, Christopher Morel scored all the way from first base on an RBI double by Yan Gomes.

Carrasco was out of the game when Chicago took the lead in the eighth inning on a Tauchman homer.

Manager Buck Showalter came away pleased with Carrasco’s outing. It reminded the skipper of the start Carrasco had against the D-backs, when he pitched eight scoreless innings in a 9-0 victory on July 6.

“When you had some of the challenges he has had this year, you get something good underneath your belt,” Showalter said. “We had some rested [relievers] down there. Bellinger has been hitting everybody. [Carrasco] did a good job with him up to that point.

“[To get through the year], we are going to need Carlos the rest of the season. Today was a good sign. You could tell he felt comfortable going and getting it [with the fastball] when he needed to. He ran off some good innings against a club that is doing a lot of things well.”

With more than a month to go, Carrasco vowed to never give up on his season.

“I will continue to work,” he said. “I found a little detail on my arm. I want to get on top of my delivery. I want to finish the season strong and healthy. That’s what I’m looking for.”