It was a great win for the Mets on Tuesday night. Not only did they snap their seven-game losing streak, but Pete Alonsobroke the franchise home run record. However, it didn't turn into a laugher until after starter Clay Holmes was out of the game.
Holmes did not factor into the decision after going just 3.2 innings and allowing five runs, and that's after being staked to a 5-1 lead. It was going smoothly for Holmes at first, too. He allowed one run through the first three innings, but then he imploded in the fourth inning, and as quickly as the Citi Field crowd was excited for Alonso's record-breaking blast, they were silenced after the Braves scored four runs to tie the game.
"Fourth inning, a couple of guys got on, walk to load the bases. Just getting into bad counts," Holmes explained after the game. "The sinker had been working, got a couple of groundballs, and in a situation where you have to trust it. Probably starting getting a little too fine and [Nacho Alvarez Jr.] hit the double. Situations, looking back, I just have to keep going. If they want to hit five singles in a row, let them do it. Can’t put myself in bad counts and help them out. That inning, I wasn’t able to stop it because I was shying away from the contact."
Manager Carlos Mendoza acknowledged Holmes' struggles on Tuesday, saying the right-hander had trouble landing the sinker for strikes and missing pitches arm side, which the Braves took advantage of in the form of five walks allowed.
For a team with World Series aspirations, the starting rotation continues to be a problem and Holmes perpetuated that on Tuesday. He continued the team's inability to get length from starters not named David Peterson and Holmes, who is a converted reliever, did not do his team any favors. Mendoza said when he pulled his starter in the fourth inning, he didn't know how he'd piece together the rest of the game because the team didn't have four arms in the bullpen because of their usage over the weekend in Milwaukee — thankfully, Justin Hagenman provided four shutout innings to close the game.
Holmes' performance put his team in a bad spot, and it's no surprise considering his recent downward trajectory.
He hasn't recorded an out in the sixth inning since mid-July and allowed 19 runs (16 earned) in 29.1 innings in July. So far in August, he's allowed seven earned runs in just 8.2 innings pitched.
Could Holmes be hitting a wall with the number of innings he's pitched this season? Including Tuesday's start, Holmes has pitched 126 innings, almost doubling his previous career high of 70 innings back in 2021.
When asked whether Holmes' workload is contributing to his recent performance, Mendoza couldn't say one way or the other.
"When you have a night like tonight, you will always start questioning," Mendoza said. "He’s coming off an outing where [he pitched] five innings, [threw] 75 [pitches]. Pitch-efficient. He keeps saying he’s fine and we see the sinker is 96 mph, we’re seeing the movement, he just had a hard time throwing that pitch for strikes. We’ll continue to check on him. We’ll continue to make sure we’re not missing anything, but he’s a big part of this team."
Before the trade deadline, the Mets didn't feel it necessary to move Holmes to the bullpen. Mendoza and president of baseball operations David Stearns have maintained that stance since, but changed course with another arm in the rotation.
The team decided to move Frankie Montas to the bullpen before Tuesday's game and could call up one of their pitching prospects (Nolan McLean/Brandon Sproat) to start on Saturday. Could the same happen with Holmes if his struggles continue?
It's unclear, but it's a situation to monitor after every Holmes start from here on out.
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