Feat of Clay: Mets Sweep Rockies Behind Holmes' Strong Outing

New York Mets 5, Colorado Rockies 3 (Citi Field, Flushing, NY)

Mets Record: 37-22

Mets Streak: W3

Mets Last 10: 8-2

WP: Clay Holmes (6-3) LP: Carson Palmquist (0-4)

SV: Edwin Diaz (13)

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.

Today's Seat on the Korner goes to Mets starter Clay Holmes, who hurled seven solid innings, an outing marred by only two bad pitches, both of which resulted in wind-blown home runs to right field. Holmes' transition to starter has been incredibly seamless. Halfway through this outing, Holmes passed his innings total from last year, when he was in the Yankees' bullpen, and he gave the Mets length just when they needed it, with a post-game cross-country flight followed by four games against the Dodgers. It was only the sixth time this year that Mets starter had made it into the seventh. Time to sit down with Ralph and talk about what has made him so successful this year and how he sees the rest of the season playing out.

Need To Know:

• The win ended a nine-game home stand in which the Mets went 7-2. At 37-22, the team reached 15 games over .500 for the first time this season.

• The Mets are now 24-7 at home; Saturday, when they won their 23rd home tilt, they tied the 1986 team for the best home start in team history. And we know how the 1986 season ended.

• The Mets are 9-1 in home series this season.

• The importance of home runs? The Mets are 15-4 when they hit multiple home runs in a game, and 9-0 when they hit three or more. And, of course, they have won the last 27 games in which Francisco Lindor has homered.

• This was the 15th time the Mets have come from behind to win.

• Negative numbers: The Rockies lost their 50th game, and, at 9-50, are the quickest team to lose 50 games since the 1884 Kansas City Unions, who went 7-50. The Rockies won only four games in both April and May, only the ninth and 10th time an MLB team has won that few in a month since 2002. It was also the 10th time the Rockies were swept in a series this year. If this were soccer, they would be on their way toward being relegated to AAA.

• Starling Marte got the start in left field, only the fourth time this year he has opened the game as a fielder. Marte took Brandon Nimmo's place in the lineup, mostly because the Rockies started a lefthander, but partly because Nimmo was not at 100 percent after leaving Saturday's game with leg cramps. Nimmo did enter the game as defensive replacement in the eighth.

• Paul Blackburn comes off the IL Monday to make his first start of the year against the Dodgers in Los Angeles. Unclear what roster move the Mets will make to add him to the active roster.

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Turning Point:

After Clay Holmes gave up game-tying home run to Tyler Freeman in the top of the fifth -- one of only two bad pitches Holmes threw all day -- Francisco Lindor hit a 386-foot bomb to center field to regain the lead. The Mets held from there on.

Three Things:

The Power Bats Produce.....Power

Pete Alonso early, Francisco Lindor in the middle, Joan Soto late: Home runs by the Mets power bats propelled them to victory, just as, we are sure, David Stearns and Carlos Mendoza envisioned it in the offseason,. For Alonso and Lindor, the dingers are continuations of their strong seasons . And for Soto, with his second homer in as many days, maybe all it took was a dose of Rockies pitching to get him, finally, on track. With all of his struggles, it seems almost amazing that this game's homer was his 10th of the year, only two behind Alonso and three behind Lindor.

More Fanfare From the Bullpen

The back end of the Mets bullpen, Reed Garrett and Edwin Diaz, once again demonstrated their reliability. Garrett pitched a strong eighth, allowing only a single a stolen base before retiring Orlando Arcia on a ground ball to notch his 13th hold. And Diaz put on a very Diaz-like performance, allowing a single and throwing a wild pitch before striking out the side to earn his 13th save. The single ended Diaz' streak of retiring 30 consecutive batters. With Holmes pitching seven innings, being able to turn the game over to the Garrett-Diaz tandem seemed as lockdown as you can get, especially against the Rockies.

Brett Baty: More Than a Big Bat

Much has been made of Brett Baty's resurgence at the plate since his recall from Syracuse: .283 in 16 starts. But just as impressive has been his glovework at third base -- fielding that masked the fact that he went 0-4 in Sunday's game. Baty especially showed off his glove in the seventh, when he made all three putouts. As much as his offensive awakening, Baty's glove has relegated Mark Vientos to part-time DH status. Vientos consistently displayed his defensive shortcomings while Baty is showing he can help the team even on days when his bat is cold.