Hector

Carrasco

''I hit the wall hard,’' Carrasco said. X-rays were negative, and he is listed as day-to-day.

The Orioles led by four runs after eight, so Jorge Julio wasn’t called in. Carrasco has a 4.35 ERA since being called up late last month.

The reliever is now a starter, as the Nationals rotation is depleted.

Carrasco has pitched 17 2/3 scoreless innings over his last three starts. He’s saying he’d like to be a starter next year and he’s done everything he can to earn that opportunity. Still, it’s likely that he’ll end up returning to the pen.

Carrasco was removed with a five-run lead, but he was denied a win after Frank Robinson’s hijinks in the ninth. Jay Bergmann started the inning and was pulled after a walk and a strikeout. Joey Eischen replaced him and got Brian Giles to fly out, but he then gave up a single to Xavier Nady and was pulled. The third reliever in, Travis Hughes, got to face just one batter, allowing an RBI single. Robinson then decided to bring in closer Chad Cordero, who walked the bases loaded and gave up a game-tying grand slam. The Padres had absolutely no momentum whatsoever until Robinson went crazy with the pitching changes. It’s not as if Bergmann or Eischen looked like they didn’t have it. It was overmanaging at its worst.

Jon Rauch, Joey Eischen, Gary Majewski and Chad Cordero followed and combined to pitch five scoreless innings in the Nationals’ 4-2 win. The victory went to Majewski.

An embarrassing performance from a Giants lineup minus Barry Bonds. By allowing two runs over 15 1/3 innings in his three starts, Carrasco has certainly upped his stock as he approaches free agency. However, he should still be viewed as a reliever.

Carrasco entered with a 1.73 ERA, but this bumps him up to 2.04. He did well enough in five starts that it’s possible some lesser teams will be willing to give him a chance to compete for a rotation spot next spring. Contenders will be interested, too, but probably only if he’s willing to go back to the pen.

He would have talked with more teams, but then he realized Alex Escobar was still on his roster. With MLB ownership still in place, it’s hard to imagine the Nationals as serious bidders for Burnett. They will try to keep Carrasco. They may have to promise him a chance to compete for a rotation spot in order to re-sign him.