PORT ST. LUCIE — Clay Holmes went to the mound for the sixth inning Friday with mental fatigue to conquer.
A former reliever who has stretched out to starter this spring for the Mets, the right-hander felt the full brunt of his new role, even as his arm wasn’t showing signs of duress.
“Physically, I was in a pretty good spot,” Holmes said after the Mets beat the Cardinals 3-2 in an exhibition game at Clover Park. “But, man, six up just feels like you’re pitching forever out there. That’s just a mental thing.”
Holmes recorded one out in the inning, extending to 88 pitches, and was removed.
Over 5 ¹/₃ scoreless innings, he allowed two hits and struck out eight with three walks.
He finished the Grapefruit League with a 0.93 ERA.
The next time Holmes pitches, the game will count — on Thursday in the season opener in Houston.
Holmes, who became an All-Star reliever with the Yankees, last started a regular-season game in 2018 with the Pirates.
“I haven’t been this excited to attack a season, to attack a next day, in a while,” Holmes said. “I just think it’s given me some excitement, something to look forward to, and it’s going to be a fun year.”
For Holmes, it took two months to reach this point.
He arrived at camp in mid-January and followed the plan designed for him by the Mets staff.
By the time the spring training games began, Holmes was already extended to three innings.
“I think it’s just a testament to having some very thoughtful and intentional plan going into this,” Holmes said. “It’s nice to see it kind of come to fruition and just being in such a good spot right now.”
That dedication, in part, led to manager Carlos Mendoza’s decision to tab him for the Opening Day start.
Holmes will be the fifth different Opening Day starter for the Mets in the past five seasons.
There’s been plenty to like about Holmes, but Mendoza is also taking a measured approach to what he’s seen.
“Pretty good, I am not going to lie, but it’s spring training,” Mendoza said when asked to evaluate Holmes’ exhibition season. “He’s got to translate it to the regular season, but he’s put himself in a really good position. He came in at a really good spot and he continues to get better. A pretty impressive camp.”
The biggest challenge for Holmes might have been the adjustment to working multiple times through the batting order.
Holmes had to develop a plan rather than just use the reliever mentality of trying to consistently overpower hitters.
“You are thinking about how you pitched a batter last time and how you are going to pitch him this next time,” Holmes said. “Those are things you just don’t really do as a reliever. I just think that mental processing can make things feel long because it can be tiring, too. Physically, I’m in a good spot.”
Holmes, who arrived on a three-year contract worth $38 million, will be asked to help carry a rotation that will be without Sean Manaea (oblique) and Frankie Montas (high-grade lat strain) to begin the season.
He said it will be “special” to throw the first pitches of the new season for the Mets.
“You can see there’s a lot of people in here that really care, that have worked really hard, put themselves in position to be the best player they can and we know the opportunity we have in front of us,” Holmes said. “We’re looking forward to attacking it from Day 1.”
