Corey Kluber might be the official ace of the Indians’ pitching staff, but if Carlos Carrasco keeps pitching like he did Tuesday night, the recognition he deserves should be right around the corner.
Carrasco continued his dominant start to the season by tossing seven scoreless innings in a 6-0 victory over the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. He faced just two batters over the minimum, did not walk a batter and struck out seven to lower his season ERA to 1.86. It hasn’t been a flawless start to the year, but it has been close.
“It’s nice for us to break it open a little bit,” Indians manager Terry Francona said. “But, [Carrasco] pitched the majority of that game where, if you make a mistake, they’re right there. And he was really good. He’s been really good. He continues to be.”
Cleveland lost Kluber to the disabled list earlier this month, but Carrasco has been there to help fill the void. He has yet to allow more than three earned runs in any of his seven starts, and he has lasted at least six innings in all but one. The latest clinic came Tuesday, when he allowed the Blue Jays to have just one at-bat with runners in scoring position and threw 64 of his 97 pitches for strikes.
“Every pitch [catcher Yan] Gomes called, I was throwing for a strike,” Carrasco said. “And I got a lot of ground balls. I’ve got my teammates there to make a nice play. I think it was everything. The way we attacked the hitters, it was good.”
The Indians were led on offense by center fielder Lonnie Chisenhall, who finished 2-for-3 with a pair of doubles. Gomes was responsible for putting the game out of reach in the top of the eighth when he sent a three-run shot over the wall in left field for his second home run of the season. Gomes also singled and walked as part of a 2-for-3 night with a couple of runs scored and three RBIs.
Despite the score, Toronto starter Mike Bolsinger deserved a better fate. He limited the Cleveland offense to a pair of runs over 5 2/3 innings while allowing three hits and walking four. The Blue Jays will now have to decide what to do with Bolsinger, as he’s out of Minor League options and right-hander Aaron Sanchez is expected to return from the DL this weekend vs. Seattle.
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