New York Mets pitcher Clay Holmes is set to spend ‘a long time’ on the sidelines after breaking his leg during their Friday night loss to the Yankees.
Holmes suffered a fractured right fibula after getting hit on the mound by a blistering 111mph line drive, coming as another devastating blow to the Mets in what has been a miserable season for them so far.
The 33-year-old, arguably his team’s best pitcher so far this year, got nailed just above the right foot on a leadoff single in the fourth inning by Yankees rookie Spencer Jones during the Subway Series opener at Citi Field.
The ball caromed past the first-base line into foul territory, and Mets manager Carlos Mendoza and an athletic trainer quickly came out of the dugout to check on him. The right-hander threw two warmup pitches and remained in the game.
His next six pitches were balls, but Holmes then got consecutive strikeouts and retired Aaron Judge on a flyball with the bases loaded to finish a scoreless inning.
Holmes was lifted following a one-out walk in the fifth. He threw 95 pitches, including 26 while facing seven batters after getting hit by Jones’ line drive.
Mets pitcher Clay Holmes is set to spend ‘a long time’ on the sidelines with a broken right leg
Holmes suffered the grim injury after being hit by a 111mph liner in their loss to the Yankees
After the game, Mendoza said X-rays showed a broken right fibula that will sideline his star pitcher indefinitely.
‘It’s a huge blow,’ the Mets boss said about Holmes after saying that he will be ‘down for a long time’ with the injury.
‘He’s been one of the most consistent guys that we had in that rotation.’
A former Yankees reliever who works out with Jones at the same facility in Nashville, Tennessee, Holmes has been a dependable member of the rotation since converting to a starting role after signing with the Mets as a free agent before the 2025 season. He entered Friday third in the National League with a 1.86 ERA.
Holmes (4-4) was charged with four runs and seven hits over 4 1/3 innings in a 5-2 loss, raising his ERA to 2.39. He struck out eight and walked two.
He had lasted at least five innings and permitted no more than two runs in each of his first eight starts this season.
The high-priced Mets dropped to 18-26. Four projected regulars are already on the injured list – shortstop Francisco Lindor, catcher Francisco Alvarez, first baseman Jorge Polanco and center fielder Luis Robert Jr. – along with ineffective starting pitcher Kodai Senga and backups Ronny Mauricio and Jared Young.
