Juan Soto homers, Clay Holmes delivers in Mets series-opening win over Twins

James O'Connell, New York Daily News on Apr 14, 2025

Published in Baseball

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The story of the New York Mets season thus far has been timely hitting and strong pitching.

That was no different on Monday night.

The Mets opened up a three-game series against the Minnesota Twins with a 5-1 victory to keep their strong start rolling. Clay Holmes was the latest to carry the torch for the Mets’ dominant rotation.

The right-hander tossed five innings allowing just one run on two hits while striking out eight. The reliever-turned-starter walked just two batters as his season ERA lowered to 3.66.

The Mets offense was quiet for the majority of the night as they tallied just one run entering the sixth inning — thanks to a Pete Alonso RBI single in the third. However, the bats broke out in the later innings. Mark Vientos doubled in Alonso in the sixth and later scored on an error by pitcher Justin Toppa, giving his club a 3-1 lead. Carlos Mendoza’s squad added some much-needed insurance when a sleeping giant was awoken in the top of the seventh.

Juan Soto clubbed his second homer of the season, a two-run shot, expanding their lead to 5-1. Soto had been experiencing a bit of a power outage in his early days as a Met, however, the left-handed clubbed one out to right-center on Monday ending the skid.

The second base picture is becoming a bit clearer as Luisangel Acuna put together another strong day. The 23-year-old went 2 for 3 with a walk, two runs scored and a stolen base. Acuna is now slashing .258/.343/.355 on the young season.

Huascar Brazoban came in relief of Holmes in the sixth and tossed two scoreless innings. The right-hander has been a force for the Mets in the bullpen, pitching to a 0.79 ERA. Reed Garrett added a scoreless eighth inning before turning to Ryne Stanek in the ninth who secured the victory.

The Mets will turn to Tylor Megill on Tuesday to try and secure the series victory over the Twins. The right-hander is 2-1 with a 0.63 ERA to begin the season. Rocco Baldelli will send out Bailey Ober (0-1 with a 7.11 ERA) to try and even the series.

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