Clay Holmes was perfect in his 2025 spring debut as a New York Met. He three innings and struck out three. Holmes threw 34 pitches, 26 of which were for strikes. He set down the Houston Astros in order each of his three frames of work.
Not only was this Holmes’ spring debut, but it was his first start since 2018 with Pittsburgh. Over the course of his three seasons with the New York Yankees, he was used as a late-innings reliever. In 2024, he did not throw more than 1 2/3 innings in any outing.
With that, for Holmes to come out and throw three perfect innings was a great start to spring for the 31-year old right-handed pitcher.
Manager Carlos Mendoza recapped Holmes’ spring debut on Saturday, calling his outing, “really, really good.”
“Everything he threw today was really, really good. Not only the sinker, the sweeper, even the four-seam, the cutter, the changeup was a plus pitch for him today, not only to lefties.” Mendoza was pleased with his velocity, the movement of the ball, and how he used all of his pitches. “He got up to 98… He was on today,” said Mendoza, impressed with Holmes’ outing.
Holmes, himself, also spoke with the media and called it, “the most exciting I’ve been to pitch. New team, first start in a real game in a while… It was an exciting day, it was special,” he said. Hopefully, Saturday’s spring training start is signs for things to come in the regular season.
