Feat of Clay Keeps Mets Alive

Mets 5 Marlins 0 (loanDepot Park, Miami, FL)

Mets record: 83-78

Mets streak: Won 1

WP - Clay Holmes (12-8)

LP - Eury Perez (7-6)

Seat on the Korner: Clay Holmes

We select the star of the game and virtually invite him to a Seat on the Korner, just as Ralph Kiner used to do for his studio postgame show on WOR-channel 9 broadcasts in the early decades of the Mets.

The last time Clay Holmes went six innings, it was August 23 in Atlanta. But after that, things seemed to fall apart., and people were starting to whisper that while the experiment of making him a starter seemed to have been a success, it appeared to have hit its limit. The Mets paired Holmes with Sean Manaea for a starter-first reliever tandem, followed by a one-inning relief appearance. So Mets fans must have had great trepidation when Holmes took the mound Saturday. And, to be honest, nobody quite expected Holmes to rise to the occasion the way he did: six innings, one hit, only 78 pitches and working out of trouble twice. Eleven of his sixteen outs were ground balls. Quite a way to finish the regular season, and a chance to reflect with Ralph about this reliever-to-a-starter transformation.

Carlos Mendoza summed up Holmes' year:

Which only recalled then-manager Jerry Manuel's characterization of Johan Santana's 117-pitch shutout in a similar next-to-last day of the season win in 2008. Manuel succinctly said: Gangsta.

Need to Know

• The win ensured that the Mets make it to the final game of the season still alive in the Wild Card race. The game ended just as the Reds-Brewers game was beginning, but even if the Reds beat the Brewers, the Mets could still squeak into Wild Card 3 with a win Sunday and a Reds loss. If they end with identical records, the Reds hold the tiebreaker.

• A reminder: All of the MLB games will start at 3 p.m. Eastern, to further increase the excitement.

• A big question, of course, is who will start the game for the Mets? A recently shaky David Peterson? An equally ineffective Sean Manaea? Hope that Kodai Senga finally worked out his mechanics Syracuse? Huascar Brazoban? Needless to say, the Mets' brain trust will be ordering in to their hotel suite instead of hitting the South Beach clubs as they weigh their options.

• The win evened the Mets' season record against the Marlins at 6-6, with the rubber game Sunday.

• The combined one-hitter was the Mets' first game of one hit or less since 2022.

• The only Marlins hit came off the bat of Mineola native Xavier Edwards, who has a team-leading 17 hits in 12 games against the Mets this season.

• With a walk in the seventh and another in the ninth, his 125th and 126th, Juan Soto broke the Mets' record for bases on balls in a season set by John Olerud in 1999. It was also Soto's 29th multiple-walk game, breaking the Mets record held by Keith Hernandez.

• The Mets made two roster moves. Roster move number one: Brett Baty placed on the 10-day IL. The Mets were scheduled to send him to New York for an MRI on his strained right oblique. If it turns out to be nothing serious, Baty would be eligible to return for the NLDS. To which we respond with a two-word comment: dream on. More likely: a tee time with Jeff McNeil. The Mets replaced Baty on the roster with Jared Young.

• Roster move number two: Kevin Herget was DFA'd, replaced on the roster by Dylan Ross, who in 28 appearances at AAA Syracuse, posted a 1.59 ERA with 39 strikeouts but also 22 walks in 32 innings.

• Ronny Mauricio replaced Baty at third base, making his first start since August 24.

Turning Point

It was a 2-0 game in the third, with Clay Holmes seemingly sailing after getting two quick outs. But then Holmes walked Heriberto Hernandez and Xavier Edwards singled -- in what proved to the the Marlins' only hit of the game. Tying runs n base and even the Mets' broadcasters, were wondering why there was no activity in the visiting bullpen. But Holmes got Jakob Marsee to ground out to second, ending the Marlins threat and the Mets help on from there.

Three Keys

Polar Express Charges On

Pete Alonso continues to make the case for Steve Cohen to open his checkbook and keep the Polar Bear in Queens (instead of, say, the Bronx Zoo). Alonso, on his way to another 162-game season, doubled in the first to score Francisco Lindor and homered in the third. And then he scored on Jeff McNeil's double in the sixth. Of the Mets' big four, Alonso is the one who most consistently rises to the big moment (although Lindor is not far behind). I know it's not my money, but this is a guy you can't afford to lose.

The Bullpen Circle of Trust Does It Job

With Clay Holmes going six full innings, manager Carlos Mendoza only had to rely on his three trusted back-end relievers. Brooks Raley and Tyler Rogers pitched clean innings in the seventh and eighth, and even though the Mets sort of broke the game open in the top of the ninth, Mendoza, taking no chances, still called on Edwin Diaz to pitch the ninth (Mendoza gave the Marlins false hope by having Ryan Helsley warm up along with Diaz). Diaz got two quick outs, hit a batter, but then got Augistin Ramirez to weakly ground back to him to end the game.

Squirrel Flies Again

Jeff McNeil entered the game on an 0-for-38 streak. With men on second and third in the first and a chance to break the game open early, McNeil struck out looking. In the third, he hit one to the warning track, running his streak to 0-for-40. But presented again with an RBI opportunity in the sixth, McNeil broke his streak with a line drive double to right, scoring Pete Alonso for the Mets' third run.