Carlos Carrasco is set on Thursday to make his first start since last August, when he was with Cleveland and in the midst of a terrible season.
The right-hander made the Yankees rotation in part due to a rash of injuries during the spring, as Gerrit Cole, Luis Gil and Clarke Schmidt all landed on the injured list.
Cole is out for the year after Tommy John surgery and Gil won’t be back at least until June with a lat strain, but Schmidt is progressing well from the rotator cuff tendinitis that landed him on the shelf this spring and could make his season debut in less than two weeks.
That could put pressure on Carrasco, coming off a year in which he finished with a 5.64 ERA.
“This is a big chance for me,’’ Carrasco said Wednesday before the Yankees’ 4-3 loss to the Diamondbacks at the Stadium. “I just have to go out there and pitch the same way I did in spring training. Compete every pitch, every out and inning and go from there.”
The 38-year-old allowed just three earned runs in 16 Grapefruit League innings after signing a minor league deal with the Yankees to earn a roster spot.
He said he got some jitters out when he made his Yankees debut out of the bullpen in their lopsided win over Milwaukee on Saturday.
“I’ve been in the league a lot of years, but on Saturday, when I came out of the pen, I was a little nervous,’’ Carrasco said of his relief appearance in which he gave up three runs in two innings. “Pitching for the Yankees is different. The fans are different. I’m glad I got out there the first time and now I can just do my job.”
As for the prospects that he might get squeezed out when Schmidt returns, Carrasco said, “I don’t have any control over that. I know a couple guys got hurt and are coming back, but I’m just thinking about what I can do at this moment and go from there.”
The Yankees lineup plans may be fluid, but for the fourth time in five games, Paul Goldschmidt hit leadoff, again versus a right-handed starter, as manager Aaron Boone looks to create lefty-righty balance throughout the order.
Goldschmidt, who struggled for much of last year with St. Louis, entered Wednesday 5-for-16 with a double and a homer on the season.
He went 0-for-4 in the Yankees’ loss.
“As his spring went on, he kept getting better and better every day,” Boone said of the first baseman. “From the middle of spring, on the days he was playing, he was really consistent in his at-bats. Hopefully that carries throughout the season. For the better part of a month, he’s been swinging the bat well.”
Boone said he still expects Jasson Domínguez to become a good enough left fielder that he won’t be replaced defensively late in games.
“Over time, I feel like I won’t do that because I do feel he’ll get to the point where he continues to develop and is more comfortable with reps out there,’’ Boone said of Domínguez, who went hitless in Wednesday’s loss. “My expectation is he becomes an outstanding defensive left fielder.”
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