MIAMI — The drums and the noisemakers came out around the top of the sixth. Finally, the atmosphere at LoanDepot Park had some life.
With more fans in attendance for the visiting team than the home team, it had been nearly lifeless for most of Friday night and for five innings Saturday as the Mets fought to keep their season alive.
Thanks to a heroic start by Clay Holmes, it’s still alive with only Game 162 left to play. A 5-0 win over the Miami Marlins keeps the Mets (83-78) neck-and-neck with the Cincinnati Reds for the final NL Wild Card playoff spot.
“Unbelievable,” said Mets manager Carlos Mendoza. “On a day where we were probably looking at 70 pitches from him at the most — especially with him pitching on Sunday, and he pitched Wednesday — here we are asking him to start on a Saturday with the season on the line. For him to go out there and just completely dominate that lineup was pretty impressive, probably one of the best we’ve seen.”
Holmes tossed six scoreless innings while holding the Marlins (78-83) to only one hit and three walks with two strikeouts. Over his last four outings, he’s been alternating throwing from each side of the rubber from hitter-to-hitter in an effort to give each of them a different “window” to see his stuff. Given that most of his pitches move from east-to-west, he thought it could be effective.
“I’ve kind of messed around with a little bit in the bullpen some and, for me, it’s just kind of thinking through how hitters might approach me, and things I can do differently,” Holmes said. “If I’m able to do it and my command stays the same, why not add another element of some more angles and some more deception?”
It worked against the Marlins, with Holmes maintaining his command even without a ton of run support. He got out of two jams with runners on first and second and two outs. Miami wasn’t even able to get a runner past second base the entire night.
A first-inning double by Pete Alonso scored Francisco Lindor to give the Mets a 1-0 lead, but then the Mets stranded runners on the corners and the tension grew thick. Alonso hit his 38th homer of the year off right-hander Eury Perez (7-6) in the third to make it 2-0 to briefly ease it.
On a full count with two outs, Alonso teed off on a 100.6 mph fastball, sending it 410 feet to left-center field, knowing it was out of the park right off the bat.
No lead is ever safe with the Mets, but with the right-handed Holmes on the mound for the third time in less than a week, fans could be forgiven for holding their breaths with every pitch. But in the end, his 2025 season was less tense than it seemed. His first as a starter, he finished 12-8 with a 3.53 ERA, pitching a career-high 165 2/3 innings.
There was a learning curve, and not all of his outings were pretty, but Holmes gave the Mets reliability with a healthy season and ate innings when the rest of the staff couldn’t.
“It’s not an easy transition when you’re looking at the innings, compared to where he was career-wise,” Mendoza said. “For him to be feeling this good this time of the year with how much he’s been used says a lot about him and the work that he put in, not only in the off season, but throughout the season.
“I’m hoping this is not the last time we see him pitch this season.”
Holmes worked quickly and efficiently, using his sinker to get ground-ball outs. It’s the pitch that’s always been the key to his success, but he’s relied on it more this season than he ever has. It’s gotten sharper and sharper over the last few weeks. Mendoza said it was the best he’s seen it look all season.
You could say the same for Holmes and his outing as a whole.
“He attacked the zone, he got a ton of soft contact, and he had command of all of his pitches,” Alonso said. “And even when he let some guys on base, he was able to wiggle out of it and make pitches when he needed to. That’s the exact outing that we needed today, and he really stepped up.”
In the top of the sixth, Jeff McNeil doubled to the right field corner off of left-hander Lake Bachar. Alonso scored from second to go up 3-0. A crowd of 35,609 — many of them Mets fans — drowned out the drums. Holmes retired the Fish in order in the bottom of the inning, getting three ground balls to finish his day. Finally, the fanbase was able to breathe just a little easier.
The Mets scored two in the ninth, ensuring that Game 162 will matter.
Left-hander Sean Manaea will start for the Mets on Sunday, and just about every other pitcher on the roster with the exception of Holmes and Nolan McLean will be available out of the bullpen. Much like last season, it’s come down to the final day of play.
“Wouldn’t have it any other way,” Alonso said. “This is exciting baseball and everyone is really excited for the challenge tomorrow.”
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