Quinton Fesq
Clay Holmes inherited a 1-0 deficit and handed it back as an 8-1 lead. That’s the short version of what happened Saturday night in Houston for the New York Mets righty at the 2026 World Baseball Classic.
Holmes took over from Tarik Skubal to start the 4th inning, with Great Britain up 1-0 after Nate Eaton had taken Skubal’s first pitch of the game out to left-center. Over the next 3 innings, Holmes allowed 1 hit, walked nobody, and struck out 6. The offense caught up and then some while he was out there. He didn’t give any of it back.
The 5th inning was the sharpest stretch. A 3-pitch strikeout to end the top half was the biggest single swing in win probability of his entire outing. He finished with a 74% strike rate across 66 pitches, 38 of them in the zone. The 6th got a little messier, a single to right and a runner caught stealing, but the inning ended at zero either way.
What This Means for Clay Holmes
Holmes set career highs in innings, strikeouts, and ERA in his first season as a Mets starter in 2025, finishing at 3.53 across 165.2 innings. The WBC was the first real competitive action of 2026, and 6 strikeouts in 3 innings against big leaguers is not a nothing result. His cutter grip was refined heading in, and he mixed a curveball that he’d reintroduced this spring. Both were working.
The Mets open March 26 at Citi Field. Holmes has 3 more weeks to get right before it counts.
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