Clay Holmes’ career shift has produced mostly positive results.
Holmes will continue his transition from closer for the New York Yankees to starter for the Mets when he takes the mound in Minneapolis against the Minnesota Twins on Monday night.
The 32-year right-hander recorded his first victory as a starter since his rookie season in 2018 when the Mets defeated visiting Miami 10-5 on Tuesday.
Holmes (1-1, 4.30 ERA) gave up four runs and five hits in 5 1/3 innings while recording 10 strikeouts and walking three.
“I thought he was really good. Better than the line score, to be honest with you,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “He wound up striking out 10 on a day where the conditions were really, really tough, and for a guy whose pitches move so much. How windy it was — that first inning, the walks. … He found a way and he made it look easy, and I didn’t think it was that easy.
“I have to give him credit. For him to go out in the sixth after what we saw in the first, in conditions like this, I thought he did a (great) job.”
Holmes gave up two runs in the first inning, then settled in.
“I think after that first, I was in the mode of ‘just make one pitch at a time’ and got through a better outing,” he said. “It was definitely an adjustment after the first inning.”
The windy conditions forced Holmes to rely more on his four-seam fastball.
“Went to the four-seam, put me in better counts,” Holmes said. “It was the pitch I had the most feel for. Got me in the zone, opened some things up.”
Holmes gave up two earned runs in 4 2/3 innings in his first start at Houston on March 27. He allowed one earned run in 4 2/3 innings against the Marlins on April 2, and he is 2-1 with a 1.94 ERA in nine career relief outings against Minnesota.
Right-hander Joe Ryan (1-1, 2.65 ERA) will start for the Twins on Monday.
Ryan is coming off a stellar outing against Kansas City on Wednesday in which he threw seven scoreless innings while collecting his first win this season as Minnesota gained a 4-0 victory. He allowed just two hits and no walks. He threw 63 strikes among his 85 pitches.
“I felt really strong,” he said. “I didn’t even think about anything. We worked on some stuff this week just mechanically and getting to my lower half again. That was a big cue last year. I locked that in more, and I was able to just do some things a little bit longer and more consistent.”
Ryan hasn’t walked a batter in his first three starts, but his latest outing was his best.
“It’s about as dominant as you can ask for,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said.
Ryan will face the Mets for the first time in his career.
–Field Level Media
Minnesota salvaged the finale of a three-game series against Detroit with a 5-1 win on Sunday. Byron Buxton led the offense with a double and homer.
The Mets took two of three games against the Athletics over the weekend, including an 8-0 shutout on Sunday.
–Field Level Media
