The Mets will be without starter Clay Holmes after he suffered a fractured right fibula when he was struck by a 111.1-mph comebacker off Spencer Jones’ bat in the fourth inning of Friday’s Subway Series opener, the report says. New York fell 5-2 to the Yankees, and manager Carlos Mendoza said Holmes is expected to be sidelined for an extended period.
Team medical staff, Mendoza and catcher Luis Torrens checked on Holmes after the comebacker, and he initially showed no obvious discomfort and remained in the game, the report says. He escaped a bases-loaded jam in that inning by inducing a flyout from Aaron Judge, returned to face two batters in the fifth — striking out Cody Bellinger and issuing a walk to Jazz Chisholm Jr. — and was removed with his pitch count at 95.
Holmes finished with a season-high eight strikeouts in a season-low 4 1/3 innings and was charged with four runs, three of which were produced on four consecutive two-out hits in the third inning, the report says. He left with a team-best 2.39 ERA, a mark that the report notes is bettered by only 14 qualified starters in the majors.
Friday marked the first time Holmes faced his former club since signing a three-year contract to move back into the rotation, the report says. He had been a steady contributor in his first full season as a starter, posting a 3.53 ERA across 33 appearances (31 starts), logging 165 2/3 innings — nearly 100 more than his previous career high — and avoiding the injured list.
Holmes had been even better to start this season, allowing no more than two runs in each of his first eight outings and reaching six innings four times while pitching into the seventh on three occasions, which he credited to comfort with the workload, per the report. Mets left fielder Juan Soto expressed sadness and promised team support, and Spencer Jones said he was sorry upon learning of the injury. Mendoza said the club has not decided on a rotation replacement, with veteran left-hander Sean Manaea and minor-league options Jonah Tong and Jack Wenninger among the possibilities, and urged the team to keep moving forward.
