Clay Holmes' broken leg reminds him of a similar injury he suffered in 2020

NEW YORK (AP) — Clay Holmes' mind flashed back six years.

Struck on the right leg by a 111.1 mph comebacker off the bat of the New York Yankees' Spencer Jones on Friday night, the right-hander thought to when Nelson Cruz got him with a shot up the middle during a spring training game on Feb. 29, 2020.

“I was kind of hoping this was different,” the New York Mets pitcher recalled Sunday. “I still felt like I could put a little weight on it, so it kind of gave me some hope.”

Holmes pushed himself through five more batters in the fourth inning and two in the fifth, then came out of the game.

“When I tried to run back out, I knew that it didn’t really feel the same,” he said. “It continued to get worse the more I threw.”

Holmes had X-rays Friday night that revealed he broke his right fibula, an injury that likely will keep him sidelined until at least August.

“The symptoms are definitely less this time. I don’t know how much that means,” he said. “There was definitely a little more pain and throbbing last time.”

His right foot was in a boot Sunday and he maneuvered his way through the Mets' Citi Field clubhouse on a knee scooter.

Jones, an offseason workout partner of Holmes in Nashville, Tennessee, reached out to Holmes in a text message.

“I appreciated that,” Holmes said. “I just told him that this is a freak accident, nothing he can do, and I’m excited to see him finally get a chance up here and see what he can do here in the big leagues.”

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said the leg will need six to eight weeks to heal and the 33-year-old will follow with a spring training-type ramp-up, usually about six weeks. Holmes hopes the bone will heal in four to six weeks, with check-up images determining when he gets the go-ahead to resume throwing.

“I have a tough time sitting still. So patience is not a virtue for me — or not one of my best virtues. There’s creative ways to kind of help move this process along," he said. “The shorter time on the front, the less time you need on the back end.”

Jones' comebacker hit Holmes just above where Cruz's ball struck and broke his right fibula.

“I kind of knew walking off that I think it was probably broken so I was kind of expecting it. I wasn't too surprised with the X-rays," Holmes said. It caught me good.”

A two-time All-Star reliever with the Yankees, Holmes left to sign a $38 million, three-year deal with the Mets before the 2025 season, was shifted from the bullpen to the rotation and went 12-8 with a 3.53 ERA. He is 4-4 with a 2.39 ERA this year.

Following the coronavirus shutdown in 2020, Holmes returned to the mound for Pittsburgh that July 22 in the Pirates' spring training finale. He pitched 1 1/3 innings two days later in the team's opener, then missed the rest of the season with a strained right forearm.

“It was just so weird because I could only go into the facility for rehab like two days a week,” he said. “There was a lot of different variables, I was a reliever then, so the build up was a little bit differently.”

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