Pitch clock crumbles ‘Cookie’ with 2 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 righthanded 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.