Mets starter Clay Holmes suffered a fractured right fibula after being hit by a 111 mph line drive from Yankees DH Spencer Jones during a 5-2 loss at Citi Field. Despite the injury, Holmes stayed in the game for much of the inning, later was pulled, and the Me
When Clay Holmes jogged toward first base after being hit by a hard line drive. nothing about the moment suggested it would turn into a season-altering injury.. Minutes later. the Mets learned his right leg was fractured after the 111 mph shot by Yankees designated hitter Spencer Jones ricocheted off him in the top of the fourth inning during New York’s 5-2 loss at Citi Field.
The injury happened with the Mets already trailing 3-0.. Jones took Holmes’ 94 mph sinker and drove it back at him. the ball striking Holmes’ leg and bouncing into foul territory on the first-base side.. Holmes stayed on the move, then returned to the field.. He was checked by trainers and manager Carlos Mendoza after jogging to first. and the 33-year-old pitcher continued for a stretch that initially suggested he could get through it.
Holmes remained in the game despite the fracture. His next six pitches were balls, but he recovered and produced consecutive strikeouts. He also retired Aaron Judge on a fly ball with the bases loaded to finish a scoreless inning before the Mets moved to pull him.
He was lifted following a one-out walk in the fifth. The team said Holmes threw 95 pitches, including 26 while facing seven batters after being hit by Jones’ line drive. Mendoza described the moment after the initial hit as something Holmes believed he could manage.
“He said he was fine.. That’s the crazy part.. We went out, checked him out, threw a couple pitches, was able to finish the inning,” Mendoza said.. “Comes back in and he didn’t even give me a chance.. He said, ‘I’m good to go back out,’ and he goes back out there.. Sent him for X-rays and this is what we’re dealing with now.”
X-rays showed a fractured right fibula that will sideline Holmes “for a long time.” Mendoza later added that what made the decision difficult to process was the sequence: Holmes believed he was okay after the checks. returned to the mound. and then came out again when something no longer looked or felt right.
“That’s the hard part to understand. He was fine, we checked him, finished the inning, he goes back out because he feels good. And then the last pitch, something didn’t look right. He came out, I’m talking to him in the dugout, he’s like, yeah, something didn’t feel right,” Mendoza said.
Holmes, listed as (4-4), was charged with four runs and seven hits over 4 1/3 innings.. He finished with eight strikeouts and two walks in the loss.. Friday’s outcome added to a difficult stretch for New York: in nine starts this season. Holmes had posted a 2.39 ERA with 45 strikeouts in 52 2/3 innings.. He entered the game third in the National League with a 1.86 ERA. and he had been one of the few bright spots for a Mets team struggling to stabilize.
“It’s a huge blow. He’s been one of our most consistent guys that we have in our rotation,” Mendoza said.
Holmes’ contract and role in the Mets’ plans make the setback especially sharp.. The starting pitcher signed a three-year, $38 million contract with the team as a free agent in the 2025 offseason.. After serving as a reliever with the Yankees, the Mets converted him into a starter, where he had been dependable.
For Jones, the impact was immediate and visceral. Jones, who trains with Holmes in Nashville during the offseason, said the news is hard to hear and recalled the moment he saw the ball come back.
“It’s tough to hear,” Jones said. “I hit the ball and then I saw it come back towards me. It sounded loud.”
He added, “He’s a tough guy. Workhorse. Competitor. Says a lot about who he is to go back out there again the next inning with a broken leg. It’s incredible.”
The Mets were already fighting uphill in the standings when the injury struck. The loss dropped New York to 18-26 and left the team in last place in the National League East, trailing the red-hot Atlanta Braves (31-14) by 12.5 games for first place.
The sequence of events around Holmes—checking after the hit. staying in through the inning. then leaving after a pitch that “didn’t look right. ” and finally receiving X-rays that confirmed a fractured right fibula—maps directly onto the timing of Mendoza’s comments and the way the injury was discovered in stages during the game.
New York will now try to move forward without Holmes when it takes on the Yankees again on Saturday at 7:15 p.m. ET in the second game of the Subway Series.
Clay Holmes Mets Yankees Spencer Jones fractured right fibula Citi Field Subway Series Carlos Mendoza Aaron Judge