Clay Holmes followed up one of his best starts of the year with one that was much closer to the pitcher he’s been for weeks.
He threw five innings and gave up four runs (two earned) in the Mets’ 7-4 series-opening loss to the Marlins on Thursday night at Citi Field.
His own error — dropping a throw from Pete Alonso at first base in the third inning — led to the two unearned runs.
It follows the trajectory Holmes has been on for a while now — not bad, but not really good enough either, and not working deep enough into games.
His previous start — when he pitched 6 ¹/₃ innings and gave up two runs in a win over the Braves — was an outlier.
“We didn’t make plays behind him,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “He didn’t catch that ball there covering first base. Thought he kept the ball on the ground, got ground balls. Some deep counts, obviously.”
Holmes did not give up a lot of hard contact — the Marlins scored their first run via two infield hits and a sacrifice fly, scored their second run on a fielder’s choice in which Jeff McNeil was slow throwing home, and scored their third and fourth runs on Holmes’ error and a subsequent single.
It led to Holmes’ pitch count inflating, an issue that has recurred for him throughout the year.
It has repeatedly put a strain on the bullpen, which gave up three runs — though all unearned — on Thursday.
“I knew going in, this is a team, they put the ball in play,” Holmes said. “I was hoping to get some ground balls, get them on the ground. I felt like I did that for the most part. Some early [ones] found some holes, obviously I didn’t make the play in the third that led to some runs, really hurt us.”
Given that continued lack of length from Holmes, though it’s become expected at this point in the season, it would make sense to move him into the bullpen — where he spent the majority of his career before converting back to a starter this year.
He has already more than doubled his previous career high for innings pitched in a season.
Mets brass has not publicly indicated they intend to do that, but rookie Nolan McClean’s success through three starts and Jonah Tong being called up for his MLB debut on Friday could make that decision easier.
If Tong performs anywhere close to as well as McClean, who has given up just two runs in 20 ¹/₃ innings pitched, and cements himself in the rotation, the Mets could trot out David Peterson, Kodai Senga, Sean Manaea, McClean and Tong as their five-man unit with Holmes transitioned to a bulk reliever.
“It’s a part of the year where I think for anybody, it gets long,” Holmes said. “Overall, I feel good. … It’s just the point in the season where you gotta execute and find a way and make pitches,” Holmes said.
Starts like Thursday are not a great recipe for wins.
But they currently represent Holmes’ norm.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
