Mets Clay Holmes grinds out six solid innings after rocky start

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LOUIS — Clay Holmes’ chances of finishing six innings appeared slim early on, but then he got rolling Friday.The right-hander was dented in the early innings — surrendering three earned runs — before retiring 10 of 11 batters to complete his night in the Mets’ 9-3 victory over the Cardinals at Busch Stadium.“It’s a team that puts the ball in play a lot,” Holmes said.“I am a contact guy, so it really just helped me trust the defense and let them work.”It marked the second time this season the former reliever managed to work through six innings (also previously against the Cardinals).

Only compounding the task, Holmes was struck in the ankle by an Alec Burleson line drive in the second inning.Holmes had a rough third inning, in which he surrendered four singles that allowed the Cardinals to go ahead 3-2.But only Willson Contreras’ single in the sixth stood between Holmes and perfection for the remainder of his outing.

“I think the offense took the pressure off me,” Holmes said, referring to the Mets’ four-run fifth inning.“Them responding the way they did.”It was a rare double play for the Mets in the National League’s monthly awards voting.Pete Alonso, who went 2-for-5 with a two run homer in Friday’s win, was named NL Player of the Month on Friday for March/April, with Luisangel Acuña selected as the NL Rookie of the Month for the same time frame.Alonso earned his recognition after posting a 1.131 OPS over 31 games that included seven homers and 28 RBIs.

Eduardo Escobar (September/October 2022) was the last Mets player before Alonso recognized with the monthly honor.Acuña became the first Mets player recognized as Rookie of the Month since Francisco Alvarez (July 2023) after posting a .698 OPS in his first 27 games that included a .342 on-base percentage and seven stolen bases.With Bla...