The New York Mets los Clay Holmes due to a hamstring tweak last night, so Sean Manaea will likely be next man up.
The New York Mets lost Clay Holmes in the fifth inning of last night’s 4-0 loss to the Athletics due to hamstring tightness, but Holmes doesn’t think the injury is serious.
The injury happened in the sixth inning of what was then a one-run game when Tyler Soderstrom led off the inning with a soft ground ball to Holmes’ right, and the pitcher said he felt a twinge in his hamstring when he left the mound to field the ball. Holmes sailed his next pitch over the head of the following hitter, Jacob Wilson, and Wilson then smacked an 86.7 mph cutter into left for a single.
That was enough for manager Carlos Mendoza, who made a mound visit with assistant trainer Bryan Baca, according to an article written by Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. Holmes then left the mound with Mendoza and Baca, and his replacement, reliever Tobias Myers, was given ample time to warm up.
“There was just kind of a weird feeling and some unsureness about what was going on,” Holmes said. “I think [we] just made the smart decision to not make it worse. But hopefully, we’re in a good spot. It doesn’t seem too major.”
If Holmes does miss time, Sean Manaea will probably be the next man up to join the rotation. Manaea was demoted to the bullpen at the end of spring training, but he’s since been stretched out a couple of times as a long reliever in a couple of games that got away from the Mets.
This is a significant loss for the Mets, even if Holmes only has to miss a start or two. He allowed just one run against the Athletics as he worked what’s become his usual magic with his sinker.
“He was pitch efficient,” Mendoza said of Holmes. “He was putting guys on the ground with the sinker. … He continues to get ground balls. What he’s been able to do has been pretty impressive.”
The Mets offense has been much less impressive, which is why some of the starters have been getting tagged with losses they don’t deserve. That was definitely the case for Nolan McLean in the Arizona series, and last night Holmes was the victim against the A's
The other options behind Manaea start with Myers, although the Mets seem to prefer him in the swing role right now. Jonah Tong and Christian Scott are the options in the minors, but Scott is coming off of Tommy John surgery and the Mets would prefer to see Tong rack up some innings at Triple-A Syracuse before bringing him back to Citi Field.