Carlos Carrasco impresses in debut, but Mets lose to Reds amid deGrom injury news

NEW YORK — Some elements were in place for the Mets to enjoy their final Friday of July. They acquired savvy shortstop Javier Baez from the Cubs at the trade deadline. Their retro black jerseys returned for the first time since 2012. Over 30,000 fans packed Citi Field to watch the first-place Mets take on the visiting team in Cincinnati.

But the cloud of uncertainty involving Jacob deGrom’s setback with more inflammation in his right arm hovered over the evening. The Mets offense was uninspiring against the Reds, leaving five men on base as Michael Conforto’s batting average dropped to .199. Then the Mets started their weekend with a loss.

There was some good news. Hours after the Mets learned their ace won’t pitch again until at least September, their injury-recovered offseason pickup made his season debut — and it was a terrific one.

Carlos Carrasco gave up one run across four innings in the Mets’ 6-2 loss to the Reds on Friday night. He gave up three hits and struck out four batters, including six-time All-Star Joey Votto. While it was clear Carrasco was just getting started — he threw 58 pitches before manager Luis Rojas pulled him from his Mets debut — it was an encouraging sign of good things to come from the veteran right-hander.

Carrasco’s maturity showed when Reds rookie second baseman Jonathan India took him deep for a home run to left field on the first pitch he offered. Carrasco’s first pitch of the game, a 93-mph fastball that sailed right over the strike zone and into India’s wheelhouse, was also his lowest point of the night. He rebounded to retire his next four consecutive batters, walked his only batter in India in the third, and finished strong in the fourth by stranding a runner in scoring position.

As refreshing as Carrasco’s debut was for the Mets’ deGrom-less rotation, the offense continued to hit speed bumps.

The Mets started the evening aggressively against right-hander Sonny Gray, nabbing him for three hits in the first inning. Jeff McNeil extended his career-best hit streak to 16 games with an RBI double. Then Pete Alonso walked and Dominic Smith singled to load the bases for Conforto. He promptly killed the rally with an unremarkable at-bat that resulted in a four-pitch strikeout. Conforto added two more whiffs on Friday night, going 0 for 4 and letting his average fall to a buck ninety-nine.