Carrasco makes most of chance

Dazed and horrified, Hector Carrasco climbed out of the totaled Chevy Monte Carlo and immediately lifted his right arm. Good — there was no pain.

Carrasco’s arm has been a factor in the strong showing by the Washington Nationals bullpen this season. But his baseball career and life almost ended on the rainy night of March9, when he slammed his rental car into a concrete retaining wall along Interstate 95 about 15 miles north of the team’s spring training complex in Viera, Fla. A Florida Highway Patrol officer who was first on the scene couldn’t believe anyone had survived the crash.

“I got out of the car and started walking. Then I raised my arm and said, ’Thank God,’” Carrasco recalled. “I appreciate everything that is going well for me, especially after the accident. It was pretty scary.”

Carrasco held his thumb and forefinger about a half-inch apart. “I was that close to dying,” he said. That night when I got back to the hotel, I was afraid to go to sleep because I thought I might die.”

The Dominican native’s good luck certainly was overdue. A career journeyman at 35, he spent time with 11 major league organizations over 17 years before being signing a minor league deal with the Nationals on Dec.23. Suddenly, if that’s the word, he has become an outstanding relief pitcher — something no one could have predicted three months ago.

Carrasco is one of three Nationals relievers (including Gary Majewski and Sun-Woo Kim) who opened the season in the minors. The Nationals purchased Carrasco’s contract from the Class AAA New Orleans Zephyrs on April19, when right-handed reliever T.J. Tucker went on the 15-day disabled list for the first time with a strained right groin.

Since being called up, Carrasco has been terrific. He is 3-1 with a 1.86 ERA and has allowed just six runs in 29 innings. His ERA is second best on the club behind closer Chad Cordero (0.85, 29 saves), who appears destined for the National League All-Star team.

One reason for Carrasco’s success is his improved physical condition.

“The last time I saw [Nationals general manager] Jim Bowden in 1994 in Cincinnati, I weighed like 240 pounds, and now I’m 215,” Carrasco said. “I’ve been working really hard. I’ve got a new [personal] trainer in the Dominican and have been working hard with him. I think that’s what really helps me now.”

As general manager of the Reds in 1994, Bowden brought Carrasco up from Class A Kane County, of the Midwest League. The GM credits former Reds pitcher Jose Rijo, now one of his special assistants, for developing Carrasco.

At the start of spring training, the Nationals bullpen was pretty much set. Carrasco opened the season in New Orleans, where he went 1-0 and didn’t allow an earned run in eight innings.

Manager Frank Robinson has tossed Carrasco into some tough situations lately, and the veteran reliever has responded. At Pittsburgh on June22, Robinson brought him in with the bases loaded and one out in the seventh inning. Carrasco escaped the jam without damage and wound up with the win.

Friday in Chicago with a 4-3 lead, he showed Robinson he could close a game when he earned his second save this season. Filling in for Cordero, who had saved games the three previous days, Carrasco struck out the first two batters he faced in a 1-2-3 ninth. Yesterday, he set down the Cubs in order in the eighth before Cordero pitched a perfect ninth in a 4-2 victory.

Robinson says he wouldn’t hesitate to use Carrasco as a late-inning set-up man, though Luis Ayala is doing an excellent job in that role. Carrasco said he appreciates Robinson using him in difficult situations because that shows the manager has faith in his ability.

Said catcher Brian Schneider: “His velocity has been up all year long, but his changeup has been unbelievable.”

For now, Carrasco, who spent last season playing in Japan, is just one of what seems like an endless stream of Nationals success stories. And his might be a little more dramatic than the others because he’s fortunate just to be alive.