CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Indians were one win away from a World Series Championship in 2016, but over the last two years, they have made earlier-than-expected exits at the hands of the New York Yankees and Houston Astros in the American League Division Series.
Despite an offseason overhaul of the roster, starting pitcher Carlos Carrasco believes the Indians have what it takes to compete not only for the American League Central Division, but also, a world championship.
“Now, it’s in our mind to go to the playoffs, but it’s something really special that we had in 2016 when we went to the World Series, seven games,” Carrasco told WKYC.com at TribeFest 2019 last month. “I wish I could pitch in one of those games, but I couldn’t because I was hurt.
“In 2017, it was the same thing. We went to the postseason last year, but I think there has to be something really special, more than that. I think we can go further than that because we’ve learned from those three years, so you’re just bringing that into this year.”
During the 2018 regular season, Carrasco posted a 17-10 record with a 3.38 ERA in 32 appearances, including 30 starts, for the Indians during the 2018 season. Over 192.0 innings of work, Carrasco surrendered 173 hits, 78 runs, 72 of which were earned, and 43 walks but registered 231 strikeouts.
One of four Indians pitchers with 200 strikeouts in 2018, Carrasco is 79-62 with a 3.71 ERA in 207 games, including 171 starts. Over 1,094.1 innings of work, Carrasco registered 1,127 strikeouts.
Then, in the postseason over the last two Octobers, Carrasco has posted an 0-1 record with a 1.64 earned run average and 10 strikeouts over 11 innings of work in his two starts.
“I do everything I can,” Carrasco said. “The day that I pitch, I don’t remember anything about baseball. I’m the same guy every time.
“The same guy you see in the clubhouse playing around, that’s the same day for me every day, even when I pitch. The only difference is when I pitch, I try not to think about baseball. I’m just trying to have fun, relax myself, and when I go out on the mound, ‘Okay, it’s go time.’”
And Carrasco is very much looking forward to building on those past successes throughout spring training and the regular season with designs on competing for a championship come October.
“The postseason is a different mindset,” Carrasco said. “It’s not a lot of games. It’s five games, first one to three, so it’s not too much time to think about, but at the same time, I’ve learned from the last two postseasons. Just play hard, just continue the same way we did during the season, but we have to play harder than that.
“Sometimes, when spring training starts, that’s what we’re talking about, ‘Do you remember the last game of the postseason? Or the first game? How excited everyone was to play that?’ I think it’s something to keep together, to build up during the season, and then, we get into the postseason and play really hard.”
