DETROIT — Buck Showalter was already looking to the weekend when the Mets manager removed his starting pitcher from Game 1 of the doubleheader Wednesday against the Tigers.
Joey Lucchesi had thrown just 46 pitches through four innings when Showalter, realizing he didn’t have a starting pitcher for the series finale against the Rockies at Citi Field on Sunday, decided to remove the left-hander in case he’s needed to pitch that game on short rest.
Lucchesi was unaware of the possibility until Showalter broached it to him during the Mets’ 6-5 loss to the Tigers in Game 1.
The Mets were playing their second doubleheader in three days, leaving them short in the rotation.
The Mets will pitch Justin Verlander, Kodai Senga and Tylor Megill in succession starting Thursday.
“I did not know about that going into the game, but [Showalter] told me after my last inning,” Lucchesi said, referring to the possibility he will pitch Sunday.
The left-hander allowed four earned runs on five hits over four innings, including two homers. Lucchesi has a 3.86 ERA in his three starts.
Showalter said David Peterson had been a consideration to pitch Game 1 as the 27th man for the doubleheader. That move would have allowed Lucchesi to pitch Sunday on extended rest. But Peterson had a heavy work day on Tuesday, according to Showalter, removing him from consideration.
Peterson was optioned to Triple-A Syracuse on Saturday and can’t be recalled during a 15-day window unless it’s to replace a player placed on the injured list. But he would have been exempt from that rule as the 27th man in the doubleheader. Jose Butto was added instead in that spot.
Carlos Carrasco will pitch in a minor league rehab game Friday or Saturday, according to the Mets, at a location to be determined.
The right-hander, who is rehabbing from elbow swelling caused by a bone chip, received a cortisone shot during the Mets’ last road trip.
Showalter previously suggested Carrasco would be a possibility to rejoin the Mets’ rotation later next week.
Bartolo Colon will be at Citi Field on Sunday to throw out the first pitch on the seventh anniversary of his home run at Petco Park. The popular former Mets pitcher returned last year for Old-Timers’ Day.
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