NEW YORK (AP) — Clay Holmes has a broken right leg after getting hit on the mound by a 111 mph line drive Friday night, another devastating blow to the New York Mets in their miserable season so far.
Perhaps the Mets’ best pitcher this year, Holmes got nailed just above the right foot on a leadoff single in the fourth inning by New York 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 came out of the dugout to check on Holmes. 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.
After the game, Mendoza said X-rays showed a broken right fibula that will sideline Holmes indefinitely.
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 raising his ERA to 2.39. He struck out eight and walked two.
Holmes 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.
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