Welcome back, @Cookie_Carrasco!
The @Indians starter gets a standing ovation after going 5.1 innings in his return to the mound. ?#RallyTogether pic.twitter.com/BpQeDSgOv6
— SportsTime Ohio (@SportsTimeOhio) July 7, 2018
1. Cookie’s return
Carlos Carrasco made his return to the lineup on Friday night in his first outing since June 16. If you need a refresher, Carrasco has been on the DL since that game against the Twins with a right elbow contusion after being hit with a line drive in his throwing arm. He made one rehab start in Akron before being activated for Friday night’s contest.
The right-hander went 5 1/3 innings against Oakland, giving up seven hits, three earned runs and striking out seven. He threw 96 pitches, 65 for strikes.
The only major bumps in his outing came in the first and second innings when he gave up leadoff homers to Dustin Fowler and Matt Olson to account for two of his earned runs. The only other run Carrasco allowed was on an RBI single from Fowler in the fifth inning.
Carrasco relied heavily on his curveball during the start, and got 12 strikes swinging and 12 looking with that pitch.
“Early on a couple of fastballs got hit, but he kept it in check and really found his breaking ball,” manager Terry Francona said. “There was a couple innings there where he threw maybe six, seven, eight in a row, but they were so good.”
In the end, the outing was enough for Carrasco to earn a standing ovation from the crowd. With seven strikeouts, he now has 999 for his career, and could become the 12th player in franchise history to hit 1,000 career strikeouts in his next outing.
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