Mound visit from Callaway helps Carrasco get back on track in Indians' win
CLEVELAND -- To say that Mickey Callaway wasn't pleased with Carlos Carrasco as he went to the mound in the third inning would be kind. However, whatever wake-up call he gave to Carrasco ended up working.
In his first start at Progressive Field since being hit by a Melky Cabrera line drive, Carrasco went six innings and got some support from his offense as the Indians rallied for a 9-4 win at Progressive Field on Friday night.
Carrasco joins Danny Salazar as the only Tribe starters with three wins. It is also the first time in three starts against the Blue Jays that he has beat them.
"I thought early he was a little tentative with his fastball," manager Terry Francona said. "He went to offspeed a little more (early) and then once we scored he was much more aggressive and was better."
In his first two starts since the Cabrera incident on April 14, Carrasco was 1-1 but had allowed six runs in 9 1/3 innings with 13 strikeouts against two walks. Even more of a concern was that he didn't appear to be the same aggressive pitcher that he was at the end of last year and in his first start at Houston, where he allowed no runs and struck out 10 in 6 1/3 innings.
During the first three innings it appeared as if it was going to be another long night for Carrasco. On the second pitch of the game, Josh Donaldson crushed a Carrasco fastball 397 feet over the left field porch.
In the third, Toronto added three to take a 4-1 lead. After an Edwin Encarnacion RBI double and Kevin Pillar triple drove in two more, Callaway made his way to the mound to have a blunt conversation with his pitcher. There appeared to be a couple times when Callaway appeared to poke his finger in Carrasco's shoulder telling him to get back to being aggressive.
"He told me to be stronger and not let those guys beat me and that is what I did," Carrasco said. "He never talked to me like that before."
Carrasco got Michael Saunders looking and allowed only one hit and a walk over the next three innings. In six innings, Carrasco allowed four runs on six hits with three walks and six strikeouts.
In a change from what happened in April, the Indians' offense was able to rally. They scored three in the third to tie it at four and then took the lead with two in the fourth on a two-run home run by Michael Brantley.
Carrasco also got a couple clutch plays from the defense, including Lonnie Chisenhall fielding a sharp grounder by Encarnacion to turn a 5-4-3 double play.
The most important play for Carrasco though might have happened in the sixth. Dalton Pompey hit a sharp grounder right at Carrasco, which he fielded cleanly and threw to first for the final out. It was the first ball to come directly at Carrasco since the one by Cabrera.
Carrasco said it felt good to field it because it stranded a runner at third, but the fact that a ball hit at him is now out of the way also should help moving forward.
As long as Carrasco can remain aggressive, it bodes well for the rotation moving forward. All he has to do is remember Callaway's talk.
