Pitch clock crumbles ‘Cookie’ as Mets’ Carlos Carrasco called for two delays

PORT ST. LUCIE — Carlos Carrasco endured his own pitch-clock hell on Friday, but he hopes he emerged better for it.

The Mets right-hander was twice called for delays — adding a ball to the count in each instance — during a 6-1 exhibition victory over the Marlins at Clover Park.

In the first instance, Carrasco’s delay stemmed from trouble hearing catcher Francisco Alvarez’s call through the PitchCom.

Carrasco said he was unaware he could alert the umpire about such a malfunction and get the clock stopped.

“I couldn’t hear [the PitchCom] that well, sometimes going on and off,” Carrasco said. “When something happens like that I can call to the umpire, ‘PitchCom’ and I can step off.”

In the second instance, Carrasco wanted to throw a curveball, but Alvarez was slow in signaling that pitch.

The pitch-clock delay left Carrasco considering wearing the PitchCom signaling device on his glove, allowing him to call the pitch to the catcher when needed. Max Scherzer has employed that strategy during spring training.

“I think it’s way better when I have a pitch in mind so I can just call it,” Carrasco said.

Overall, Carrasco allowed one earned run on two hits over four innings with seven strikeouts and one walk.

The Mets claimed right-handed reliever Dennis Santana off waivers from the Twins. Santana spent last season with the Rangers, appearing in 63 games and pitching to a 5.22 ERA. Santana previously pitched for the Dodgers.

“People think highly of him and we’re going to add him to the mix,” manager Buck Showalter said.

Showalter plans to take the entire team on the two-game trip to Florida’s Gulf Coast next week to face the Braves and Rays. The games will occur after the World Baseball Classic concludes.

“Usually that west coast trip we would leave some guys back here, but I think we are going to take everybody with us,” Showalter said. “We haven’t been together much and I think we need to get the team together for an old-fashioned road trip.”

The addition of the pitch clock has left Showalter curious as to why the three-batter rule remains in effect. The rule, which says a reliever entering a game must face at least three batters — unless the inning concludes first — was instituted to help speed up the game, but the pitch clock has superseded it.

“Maybe that will change, but not this year,” Showalter said, referring to the three-batter rule.