Carrasco thinks he can give Mets five
D.J. Carrasco during today's intrasquad game at Digital Domain field. (Feb. 25, 2011) Credit: Newsday/Alejandra Villa
Reliever D.J. Carrasco will make his first start of the season in Atlanta Friday.
Terry Collins elected to make the righthander a spot starter for the series opener after Chris Young was pushed back to Sunday with biceps tendinitis. Collins said he had Carrasco throw 19 pitches in the ninth inning Wednesday because "we wanted to get him some work so he'll be ready. I think he can get us to the fifth or sixth and then we'll pick it up from there."
Young said he felt good after throwing 35 pitches in his regular bullpen session Thursday and expects to close out the series, barring any setbacks.
Double or home run?
According to 15-year-old fan Wilfredo Ayala of upstate Newburgh, Scott Hairston's second-inning double in yesterday's second game should've been a home run.
Ayala said Hairston's shot hit the back of his black Mets baseball hat, which he extended below the leftfield railing. Ayala leaned over the railing and the ball hit his cap. After it grazed the back of his cap, the ball landed above the orange line atop the padding, Ayala said.
After a 31/2-minute review, crew chief Jim Joyce explained to Collins that the orange line is in play, meaning the ball could not have been a home run. Said Collins: "Jimmy Joyce is one of the best."
Extra bases
Backup catcher Mike Nickeas picked up the first two RBIs of his career with a second-inning double to left in Game 2 . . . Jose Reyes extended his hitting streak to 12 games with a two-run single in the fourth inning. Though he finished 1-for-5 in the game, he is hitting .351 (20-for-57) during that span . . . R.A. Dickey walked four batters in Game 1 of the doubleheader, bringing his season total to 12 in 171/3 innings. He averaged only 2.17 per nine innings (third-best in the National League) last season . . . Buffalo Bisons righthander Boof Bonser will undergo Tommy John surgery next week at the Hospital for Special Surgery . . . According to Major League Baseball, the Mets have the 13th, 44th, 71st and 101st selections in the 2011 draft, a two-day event that begins June 6.
With Katie Strang
