A day after the Mets sent Robinson Cano packing, three of the players who survived the roster crunch showed why they are still around.
Then Carlos Carrasco put an exclamation point on Tuesday’s doubleheader sweep.
Travis Jankowski served as a spark plug as a fill-in leadoff man in Game 1, using his speed to leg out two infield hits and score three runs
In the nightcap, Dominic Smith gave the Mets an early lead with a two-run double before Carrasco took over with eight shutout innings on the way to a 3-0 win at Citi Field.
Carrasco was coming off his worst start of the year but made it a distant memory.
After giving up three runs over 18 ¹/₃ innings across his first three starts
Carrasco had gotten tagged for eight runs in 3 ²/₃ innings last Wednesday against the Cardinals.
On Tuesday, the right-hander scattered six hits and two walks while striking out five against a quality Braves lineup.
Carrasco worked out of jams in the first two innings, stranding three runners, including one on third each time
He settled in from there, retiring 11 of 13 to get through the fifth inning before leaving another runner on third in the sixth.