When Carlos Carrasco started his windup to begin Friday night's game against the Reds, he was preparing to throw his first pitch since last year's Wild Card Series when he was with Cleveland.
Seconds later, he was watching his first big-league pitch in nearly 10 months leave the yard, courtest of a Jonathan India home run.
Despite the rough greeting, Carrasco felt strong in his Mets debut, going four innings in his first outing of the season and allowing just the one run over four innings of work.
"It was a long time," Carrasco said. "Finally I got to pitch tonight. It feels nice, it feels really good. I was excited to get there, and that's what happened [Friday]. It feels great, that's more important."
Carrasco allowed three hits and just one walk while striking out four, and averaged 93 mph on his fastball, slightly down from his average velocity last season, which is to be expected in his first game back from a torn hamstring, which he suffered back in spring training while working his way back from a sore elbow.
"It was really good," Carrasco said. "A little rust in there, but I got the timing, I got everything together. It was really good. The guys made really good plays…I got those guys behind me, so everything was really good."
Carrasco threw a total of 58 pitches, a solid starting point after the veteran righty was activated after three rehab outings, as the Mets needed arms right away because of a multitude of injuries. New York could use as many innings as possible from Carrasco, but that won't be rushed just because of need.
"Right now, we go one start at a time," Carrasco said. "Today was four innings, 50-something pitches, so I don't know what the next start is gonna be. I'm just gonna work the next four days to get ready for my next start, but I don't know what it's gonna be."
Carrasco's debut came shortly after news broke of Jacob deGrom needing to be shut down for two weeks as his forearm continues to bring about issues, and with Rich Hill being the only starting pitching acquisition before the trade deadline, Carrasco is an important piece for the division-leading Mets, so his return came right on time.
"It's really important," Carrasco said. "It's no secret to anyone what's happening right now. But with somebody down, other guys come here to do the job. Thank God I'm here now and ready to pitch. We know deGrom is gonna be down for awhile, but we'll keep fighting."
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