Carlos Carrasco finds way back to rotation for Cleveland Indians, but he does it his way

HOUSTON, Texas How far hasCarlos Carrasco come this season?

Carrasco was so good Wednesday night at Minute Maid Park that it took the best hitter in baseball to deny him a no-hitter. Carrasco coped nicely, settling for the first two-hit shutout of his career in the Indians 2-0 victory over the Astros.

Houston's two hits belonged to Jose Altuve, who leads the big leagues with 213 hits. The two hits never left the infield and if played differently Carrasco might be the owner of a no-hitter today.

Still, the night was not about two coulda, shoulda, woulda plays. The night was about Carrasco and the continued rebirth of his career.

He is 5-1 with a 1.17 ERA in eight starts since rejoining the rotation on Aug. 10. The eight starts include 59 strikeouts, seven walks and seven earned runs in 54 innings.

Wednesday night Carrasco set a career high with 12 strikeouts. It took him only 98 pitches as he threw 76 percent of them (74-for-98) for strikes.

"Everything I'm doing now is about the three months I spent in the bullpen," said Carrasco.

Which explains why about 15 minutes before game time, Carrasco was in the clubhouse with only half his uniform on. The bullpen taught him to relax.

After being sent to the pen after four poor April starts, Carrasco helped pack the backpack full of goodies for the rest of the relievers. He wasn't a rookie, but he was a rookie reliever and that's what they do.

He learned that the often grim routine of being a starter, one day of action followed by four or five days of grinding through workouts and worry was not the only way to pitch and succeed.

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Carlos Carrasco finds way back to rotation for Cleveland Indians, but he does it his way