Mets' Clay Holmes navigates six innings in victory over Cardinals
Mets starting pitcher Clay Holmes throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Friday, May 2, 2025, in St. Louis. Credit: AP/Scott Kane
ST. LOUIS — The beauty of being a starting pitcher was evident for all to see — especially Clay Holmes — on Friday night in the Mets’ 9-3 win over the Cardinals.
In his past life, as a reliever, his first frame would have been his only inning, and it would have been a nightmare. His defense didn’t make a play, the other team stole a base, a dinky infield single brought in a run.
When Holmes was a closer, such a sequence might well have cost his team the game.
Now that Holmes is a starter, that was, well, just the start. He bounced back just fine, settling in for six innings and matching his longest outing of the season. He gave up three runs and eight hits and got into a groove late, retiring 10 of his final 11 batters. He also walked none — for a second game in a row — and struck out three.
“I knew if I just kept it at one run] there and got out of it without throwing a ton of pitches, things would be good. That’s a different mentality that I think I can embrace,” Holmes said. “It allowed me to get out of that inning and I was able to go six tonight. A guy like me, who relies on contact, to not have to shy away from it there, it’s a huge part of my game and it’ll be important for me as I continue to make this transition to starting, where I can keep trusting it and trusting the offense that one run is not going to beat us.”
Holmes got hit just above his right ankle by Alec Burleson’s 101-mph line drive in the second inning. Manager Carlos Mendoza, pitching coach Jeremy Hefner and head athletic trainer Joseph Golia visited the mound to check on Holmes, who bounced on his foot to test it and threw a couple of practice pitches before they left him in the game.
It was an especially scary moment for Holmes, who during spring training 2020 absorbed a comebacker in about that same spot, resulting in a broken fibula.
“He got a lot better as the game progressed,” Mendoza said. “And he was able to give us six] on a day where he’d probably tell you that stuff-wise, the movement and all that , so that’s a really good sign there, too.”
Holmes said: “As long as I don’t give free passes, it usually takes a few hits to beat me.”
Holmes’ effort plus a well-rounded offensive night, including at least one hit from every member of the Mets’ starting lineup (17 hits in all), was plenty to beat St. Louis for a fifth game in a row (following a four-game sweep at Citi Field last month). The Mets improved to 22-11; the Cardinals dropped to 14-19.
The Mets had baserunners galore — nine hits, three walks — against righthander Sonny Gray, who threw 96 pitches in 4 1⁄3 innings. He gave up six runs (four earned). The game-breaker was a four-run fifth in which Gray recorded one out on 21 pitches. The big blow was Pete Alonso’s go-ahead home run to centerfield. After being named NL player of the month for March/April earlier in the day, he showed no signs of letting up.
“It’s not just a flash in the pan. This is sustained success,” Brandon Nimmo said of Alonso, who is batting .345 with an 1.137 OPS. “He has really good body control right now. He’s staying in the zone. When Pete Alonso stays in the zone, it’s going to be really hard to get him out.”
Nimmo (three runs, homer) and Francisco Alvarez (three RBIs) paced the offense with three hits apiece. With a pair of walks, Nimmo reached base five times. “He’s been locked in,” Mendoza said.
“Good hitter that finally is getting results. I don’t think he’s doing anything differently. Now the balls are falling. Obviously, the power is right there. So yeah, not surprised by it.”
Tim Healey is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. Born on Long Island and raised in Connecticut, Tim has previously worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Boston Globe and MLB.com. He is also the author of “Hometown Hardball,” a book about minor league baseball in the northeast.
