Carlos Carrasco roughed up by Shohei Ohtani, Angels as Mets drop series – Boston Herald

The phrase “a hush fell over the crowd” might be cliche and overdramatic, but when Shohei Ohtani comes up to bat, a hush literally does come over the crowd. That has certainly been the case this weekend at Citi Field.

But when the Los Angeles Angels two-way star stepped in for his first two at-bats Saturday night against Mets right-hander Carlos Carrasco, the silence might have signaled uncertainty or unease. It almost didn’t even seem fair that a veteran pitcher in the midst of the worst year of his career had to face a hitter like that.

The results were predictable as Carrasco was knocked out of the game in the second inning and the Mets fell to the Angels 5-3 to drop the series.

Ohtani doubled off Carrasco (3-8) in the first inning and took a triple off him in the second. Carrasco allowed five earned runs on seven hits. All five runs came in the second inning.

It likely won’t be Carrasco’s final start in a Mets uniform but it will be one of them, as his 6.80 ERA on the season won’t entice them to re-sign the veteran next season. One could reasonably make the case to designate the 36-year-old for assignment, but the Mets are thin on pitching in the higher levels of the organization and they don’t have anyone in the bullpen they could move into the rotation.

It was an eventful game for both teams. Pete Alonso was hit in the head by a pitch from right-hander Jose Soriano in the eighth inning and the benches cleared briefly. He left the game and was replaced by Danny Mendick at first base and the Mets (59-71) briefly looked as though they would rally after DJ Stewart singled to put two on with one out. But Soriano retired the next two to hold the lead for the Halos (63-67).

In a scary moment, Angels starter Chase Silseth left the game in the fourth inning after getting hit in the head with a throw from first baseman Trey Cabbage. Things went awry when Francisco Lindor and Jeff McNeil pulled off a double steal, which resulted in Lindor coming home on Cabbage’s throw that went off Silseth and into left field. Still, the run counted and the Mets would plate one more in the inning.

Daniel Vogelbach hit his fifth homer of the month in the sixth off right-hander Dominic Leone, who was traded from the Mets to the Angels on Aug. 1. Lindor extended his hitting streak to 12 games with his fourth-inning leadoff single.

Ohtani went 2-for-3 with a double, a triple, two walks and two stolen bases. Fans hoping to see some magic in the ninth inning were left disappointed once again when he was intentionally walked in his final at-bat for the second night in a row.

There was no quiet as he walked to the plate for the final time. He bypassed the plate completely as the boos grew loud enough to be heard in Manhattan.

()