The evolution of Clay Holmes took its next form Sunday, when a pitcher who has proven he can be a solid starter began proving he can be a lengthy starter, too.
The former Yankees reliever had been strong in his first 11 starts as a Met, but had not recorded an out in the seventh inning.
That changed against the Rockies at Citi Field, where Holmes completed the seventh inning in his longest start as a major leaguer, as efficient as he ever has been in a 5-3, sweep-clinching victory.
“I feel like I have the ability to fill the strike zone up right now and let the defense work,” said Holmes, who recorded just three strikeouts and four outs via fly balls because he consistently induced ground balls.
Manager Carlos Mendoza acknowledged that the presence of Holmes — a ground-ball artist — influenced his decision to play what probably is his best defensive alignment, with Brett Baty at third base and Luisangel Acuña at second.
Holmes relied heavily on his sinker and sweeper (while laying off his kick-change), which kept the infield busy.
Baty looked smooth in charging a slow chopper from Jordan Beck, whom Baty threw out at first.
Acuña made a diving stop to his left to record the final out of the top of the sixth.
“When you just trust the defense and get the ground balls, things tend to turn out pretty well,” said Holmes, who needed just 85 pitches to complete seven innings in which he allowed three runs on three hits with zero walks.
The runs came from two Holmes pitches, the first an Orlando Arcia home run in the first and the next a two-run shot from Tyler Freeman in the fifth.
The flat slider that Freeman crushed was Holmes’ only regret.
But on a day Pete Alonso, Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto went deep, the Mets did not need Holmes to be perfect and were thrilled he went deep, too.
“Our bullpen’s been great,” said Holmes, who owns a 3.07 ERA 12 starts into this experiment, “but for that to be sustainable, we need some innings out of the starters.”
Alonso’s three-run homer in the fourth broke a tie with Howard Johnson, Alonso now owning the fourth-most RBIs (632) in franchise history.
Next up on the list is Mike Piazza’s 655.
“This franchise has been around for a long time. There’s a ton of great players that have come through here,” Alonso said. “So that’s really special.”
Brandon Nimmo, who had been pulled early from Saturday’s win with a calf cramp, was out of the starting lineup, but replaced Starling Marte in left field beginning in the seventh inning.
Mendoza said the club was being “extra cautious” in giving Nimmo two-thirds of a game off.
Sean Manaea is expected to throw a second live batting practice on Monday.
Manaea is set to stretch out to two “innings” after throwing one Thursday.
If all goes well, the lefty could begin a rehab assignment afterward.
Jose Siri will join the Mets on the road trip, but a return does not sound close.
The outfielder, out with a fractured tibia, is continuing “to build up his volume,” Mendoza said, as he runs (but does not cut) and hits in the cage.
