Mar 1, 2026; Port St. Lucie, Florida, USA; New York Mets pitcher Clay Holmes (35) pitches against the Houston Astros in the first inning at Clover Park. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images
Clay Holmes was dominant in his first outing at the World Baseball Classic for Team USA, which is a superb sign for his New York Mets ahead of the 2026 season.
The veteran right-hander, who is gearing up for his second season in Queens and as a starting pitcher, piggybacked two-time defending AL Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal of the Detroit Tigers on Saturday night against Great Britain. He went three scoreless innings on just 38 pitches, allowing just one hit with six strikeouts in the United States’ 9-1 victory.
Five of those punchouts came in succession across the fourth and fifth innings. Then, in the sixth inning, he dropped a sweeper to get Yankees star second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. whiffing for his final strikeout of the night.
That sweeper looked especially dominant throughout his outing, and it appears to be even nastier than it was last season.
Out of his 38 pitches against Great Britain, Holmes threw the pitch 12 times (31.5%). While it was his second-most used pitch last year, too, he only threw it 19% of the time (h/t Baseball Savant). On Saturday night, the sweeper averaged 18.1 inches of horizontal break — a significant uptick from last year, when it averaged 16.8 inches.
Before getting Chisholm for the second out of the sixth inning, he dropped the hammer in succession to Justin Wyie and Trayce Thompson to end the fifth inning, getting both Brits to whiff on the pitch.
The Mets undoubtedly had to like what they were seeing from the 32-year-old, who abandoned a closing role with the Yankees to join the starting rotation across town. He was one of their most consistent starters, even during the epic collapse that resulted in a postseason miss, going 12-8 with a 3.53 ERA.
Holmes showed up to spring training with a workload well ahead of schedule compared to most starters in anticipation of his work in the World Baseball Classic. He was already at three ups when pitchers and catchers reported last month, while most of his peers were starting at one inning of work.
No. 3 responsibilities in the Mets’ rotation are wide open behind Freddy Peralta and Nolan McLean — the two aces of the group. Should Holmes build on this showing, it bodes remarkably well for a team that also hopes to get Kodai Senga back to his brilliant form of 2023.
For more on Clay Holmes and the Mets, visit AMNY.com