111 mph line drive fractures Clay Holmes' fibula

Clay Holmes left the New York Mets with a major hole in their rotation on Friday night after a 111.1 mph line drive off the bat of Yankees rookie Spencer Jones fractured the pitcher’s right fibula at Citi Field. Holmes stayed in the game after the fourth-inning comebacker, threw 26 more pitches and was removed in the fifth before X-rays revealed the break, according to MLB.com and the Associated Press. Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said after the 5-2 loss that Holmes would be out “a long time.” The injury came in the opener of the Subway Series and involved two players with a prior connection. The AP reported that Holmes and Jones work out at the same facility in Nashville, Tennessee, and Jones later said he had not realized the ball had caused such a serious injury. ### How did the fracture happen on a ball Holmes initially tried to pitch through? (mlb.com) Spencer Jones reached first on a deflected ball leading off the top of the fourth inning when his liner struck Holmes on the right leg, according to MLB’s game log. MLB.com said the ball was measured at 111.1 mph and hit Holmes on the right leg. Carlos Mendoza and a Mets athletic trainer came to the mound after the play, but Holmes stayed in the game after throwing warmup pitches, MLB.com and the AP reported. (abcnews.com) The AP said Holmes then threw six straight balls before recovering to finish the inning, and MLB.com said he faced seven more hitters before departing in the fifth. (mlb.com) ### What did the Mets say after the X-rays? Carlos Mendoza said after the game that X-rays showed a broken right fibula and that Holmes would be down “for a long time,” according to MLB.com and ABC’s AP report. Mendoza called the loss “a huge blow,” MLB.com reported. Clay Holmes had entered Friday with a 1.86 ERA, third in the National League, the AP said. (mlb.com) MLB.com said the 33-year-old had posted a 2.39 ERA over nine starts after Friday’s outing, during which he allowed four runs in 4 1/3 innings. ### What did Spencer Jones say when he learned Holmes had fractured his leg? (mlb.com) Spencer Jones said, “I’m sorry. He’s a friend of mine, we work out in Nashville together, so that’s tough to hear,” according to reporting aggregated by Yahoo Sports and The Score. Those reports said Jones did not know during the game that Holmes had suffered a fracture. (abcnews.com) The AP said Holmes is a former Yankees reliever who worked out with Jones at the same Nashville facility after leaving New York for the Mets in free agency before the 2025 season. That connection explains Jones’ reference to their offseason relationship, based on the AP’s account and Jones’ quoted remarks. (sports.yahoo.com) ### Why does this matter to the Mets’ rotation right now? Clay Holmes had been one of the Mets’ most effective starters through the first seven weeks of the season. MLB.com called him one of the club’s most consistent rotation pieces, and the AP said he had lasted at least five innings and allowed no more than two runs in each of his first eight starts. (abcnews.com) The Mets were already dealing with multiple injuries elsewhere on the roster. The AP reported that Francisco Lindor, Francisco Alvarez, Jorge Polanco, Luis Robert Jr., Kodai Senga, Ronny Mauricio and Jared Young were among the players sidelined as of Friday night. ### What comes next for Holmes and the Mets? (mlb.com) The Mets had not announced a timetable for Holmes’ return as of Saturday, May 16. Mendoza’s only public estimate was that the right-hander would be out “a long time,” according to MLB.com and the AP. Spencer Jones, meanwhile, is in the majors only days after making his debut on May 8, according to Baseball-Reference and MLB.com. (abcnews.com) The Mets’ next formal update on Holmes is likely to come through the club’s injury reporting or Mendoza’s pregame availability as the Subway Series continues. (baseball-reference.com) (mlb.com)