#Carlos Carrasco’s season ends with rough night in Mets loss

ATLANTA – Carlos Carrasco is one more question mark the Mets will have to consider as they evaluate their 2022 starting rotation plans.

Simply, what is the veteran right-hander at this point in his career?

His sluggish August could be forgiven as he built up stamina following a torn right hamstring that kept him sidelined for the first three months. But September didn’t go exactly as Carrasco would have hoped, either.

On Saturday, his season concluded with a whimper in his team’s 6-5 loss to the Braves at Truist Park. The right-hander allowed five earned runs on seven hits and two walks over five innings to finish his season with a 6.04 ERA.

Carrasco was hurt on this night by the long ball: Joc Pederson homered in the third for the Braves’ first run and William Contreras cleared the left-field fence in the fourth, a two-run blast that placed the Mets in a 4-0 hole.

Carrasco, who turns 35 in March, is signed through next season for $12 million. He joins Jacob deGrom and Taijuan Walker among Mets’ starting pitchers under contract – Marcus Stroman and Noah Syndergaard are impending free agents.

Pete Alonso’s RBI double in the sixth got the Mets on the board. Michael Conforto singled for the team’s second hit of the game before Alonso hit a shot past third base to knock in the run.

Conforto launched a two-run homer in the eighth, after Francisco Lindor tripled for career hit No. 1,000. Kevin Pillar delivered the Mets’ fourth run with an RBI triple in the ninth. Brandon Nimmo followed with an RBI single.