Clay Holmes never saw this coming. One minute, he was a two-time All-Star closer, trusted to shut games down, and the next, it was a different ballgame. Teams were suddenly calling with a wild idea—what if you became a starter? For a player who hadn’t started a game since his rookie year, this was sudden and surreal, of course. But Holmes, at age 32, decided to take a bet on himself. Instead of staying in the bullpen with a $40 million offer, he signed a $38 million deal with the New York Mets.

He was hoping to reinvest in his career from the ground up. And guess what? He has been great!

Surprisingly, so far the gamble is paying off in a big way for the Mets, too. First, Francisco Lindor’s move to the leadoff spot is helping their offense. And second, Holmes is getting some serious breathing room.

After Lindor opened Friday night’s game with another leadoff homer, Holmes said, “You know, I’m down the tunnel and I was like, ‘Man, again?’ But they’ve been hot at the top of our lineup — I mean, really, the whole lineup. But what Lindor’s been able to do in that leadoff spot to open the games, it seems like they’re putting pressure on guys early. Especially as a starter, it enables you to kind of settle in and really just attack the zone and trust your stuff. Man, the top of the lineup there — especially early — I mean, they’ve been pretty incredible,” said Holmes. 

The pressure was immediate against the Cubs. Lindor’s shot kicked off a 7-2 win that saw the Mets belt four homers and Holmes tossed six strong innings of one-run ball with five strikeouts and no walks. Now sitting at a 2.74 ERA across the eight starts, Holmes is making a strong case for himself as a legit piece in the Mets’ rotation. Really just trusting the contact. Not trying to be too fine… trust the defense,” said Holmes. The Mets’ defense helped him out, and the offense, too, didn’t stop.

Now 14-3 at home, the Mets’ momentum is strong and real. As Holmes continues to settle into his role as a starter, it is clear that Mendoza’s leadoff shake-up is paying off big time.

Mets’ Juan Soto Takes the Torch from Alonso

April belonged to Pete Alonso—let’s be honest, he did earn the NL Player of the Month title. Mets fans all let out a sigh of relief after watching him in action. But it’s a brand-new month, and there’s another player making quite the headlines, and it’s none other than Juan Soto—the $765 million superstar of the Mets.

The Mets’ superstar outfielder is back to his groove, and he made it loud and clear on Friday night with one of the longest home runs Citi Field has seen all season long. In the bottom of the fourth, with the Mets already up 5-1, Soto stepped in and crushed a 434-foot solo shot off Jameson Taillon. The ball landed on Citi Pavilion in the right center and left the crowd simply stunned.

Forget the crowd; even his teammates were shell-shocked. “Impressive. Impressive. I don’t think I even get there during BP, so to do that during a game? Very impressive. When no one in the stadium moves, you know he got it,” said Lindor. Juan Soto’s bat surely has been on fire lately. So far, Soto’s 11 for 30 with seven RBIs, nine runs scored, and seven walks. He has also reached base in all eight May games. For a guy who started the year hot but just slightly under the radar, given Alonso’s hot streak, Soto’s season is heating up quickly now.

So, the Mets are on fire! Who do you think is putting their best foot forward? Let us know.