Mets' Clay Holmes Fractures Right Fibula After 111.1 mph Comebacker in Subway Series Loss

New York Mets pitcher Clay Holmes suffered a fractured right fibula after taking a 111.1 mph comebacker off his right leg in the team’s 5-2 loss to the New York Yankees on Friday night at Citi Field, dealing a major early-season blow to a rotation that had leaned heavily on him.

X-rays revealed the fracture after Holmes exited in the fifth inning, according to MLB.com’s postgame reporting. Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said Holmes will “be down for a long time,” a sobering assessment for a club already managing broader injury strain early in the season.

The injury happened in the fourth inning of the Subway Series opener when Yankees prospect Spencer Jones sent a ball back up the middle that struck Holmes on the right leg. Statcast measured the exit velocity at 111.1 mph. Holmes stayed upright after the play and was checked on the mound by trainers and Mendoza. He then threw a couple of warmup pitches and remained in the game, an outcome Mendoza later described by saying, “That’s the crazy part.”

Holmes eventually left in the fifth, and the postgame imaging confirmed the seriousness of the injury. No official team medical release with surgery details, a timetable or an injured-list move had been announced in the sourced reporting.

The loss is significant because Holmes had been one of the Mets’ steadiest starters through the first stretch of 2026. The 33-year-old right-hander had a 2.39 ERA in nine starts spanning 52 2/3 innings at the time of the injury, according to his MLB player page. A former high-leverage reliever, Holmes had been converted into a starter by the Mets and quickly became one of the rotation’s most reliable arms.

That made the injury more than a routine in-game scare. It removed one of the club’s most consistent performers from a staff that had already been tested by injuries elsewhere.

“It’s a huge blow. He’s been one of the most consistent guys that we had in that rotation,” Mendoza told MLB.com.

For the Mets, that is the clearest takeaway from Friday’s opener: a rivalry loss was compounded by the sudden absence of a pitcher who had become central to their early-season success. Beyond the fracture diagnosis and Mendoza’s indication that Holmes faces a lengthy absence, the team had not announced further details immediately after the game.