Mets' Clay Holmes optimistic he'll make next start after exiting with left hamstring tightness vs. Athletics

· Yahoo Sports

Mets starting pitcher Clay Holmes unexpectedly exited Friday's game against the Athletics in the top of the sixth inning with what the team says is a left hamstring injury.

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After letting up a one-out single to Jacob Wilson, Holmes was met on the mound by trainers, who decided to remove him from the game. 

It looked like Holmes was stretching and reaching toward his leg after Wilson reached first base.

"To lead off the inning, there was that chopper that I think it was a weird spot there," Holmes said after the game. "Thought I had to make a move for the ball and felt tightness afterward. There was some unsureness about what was going on. It was the smart decision to not make it worse. Hopefully, we’re in a good spot. Doesn’t seem too major, and see how it is tomorrow and go from there. Nothing major here and hopefully we can get right here in a couple of days."

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said after Friday's 4-0 loss that there are no plans for Holmes to go get imaging on his hamstring. But that could change Saturday if Holmes feels off physically. But overall, the skipper and pitcher are optimistic about the prospects of Holmes not missing time.

"He doesn’t seem too concerned. He got to a weird position on a ball that got hit to second base," Mendoza said. "He got to a weird position and felt a little tight there. The more testing they’re doing there, the better he’s feeling. And see what we got. As of right now, he doesn’t seem too concerned."

"I’m optimistic with it. Feel like I’ll be able to make my next start," Holmes said. "But until I wake up tomorrow, we don’t really know. Can’t rule anything out, but feel pretty good about it right now. I can still keep throwing. I didn’t feel it tighten up on a throw….I think we’ll be good, but we’ll have to see."

Holmes had tossed 81 pitches over 5.1 innings up to that point, allowing one run on five hits with three strikeouts and three walks.

The right-hander had been one of the Mets' best pitchers to start the season. Entering Friday, Holmes had allowed just two runs in his first two starts across 13.2 innings. 

However, Holmes feels he wasn't as efficient as he was in his first two starts and that played a part in him taking his first loss of the season.

"The sinker was good. Was putting some pressure on them was able to get some groundballs and some early outs," Holmes said of his outing. "There was a couple of times I got myself in trouble by getting behind in counts. Having to be perfect with the sinker and they were able to put some good swings on it. When I had the sinker, I got what I needed to and the defense made some good plays."

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