NEW YORK (AP) — Luke Weaver told Clay Holmes a fib and was proud of it.
After escaping a bases-loaded, no-outs jam in the New York Mets' 6-3 Subway Series win over the Yankees on Saturday night, Weaver made sure to speak to the teammate who left the previous day's loss with a broken leg.
“When I saw him I just was like: `That was in honor of you. I even had your name written in my hat,'" Weaver recalled saying.
Only, the reliever admitted he invented
that extra bit of inspiration.
“I didn't, but it just felt right to say,” he told reporters. “Kids, don’t lie to your parents.”
“Clay would probably be disappointed that I wasn’t thinking about him out there on the mound,” Weaver added, “but the situation obviously presented itself pretty quickly.”
A night after Holmes broke his right fibula when struck by Spencer Jones' comebacker, the Mets led 5-2 when the Yankees loaded the bases in the seventh after rookie right fielder Carsen Benge dropped Cody Bellinger's fly ball, allowing Aaron Judge to score.
Weaver, who left the Yankees in December for a $22 million, two-year deal with the Mets, sprinted in from the bullpen to relieve Brooks Raley. Weaver concentrated on “not twisting an ankle or something.”
“I run in pretty fast. I just think that’s more of an adrenaline spike,” he said. “but the first few steps always are unpleasant and then the ankles start to loosen up a bit.”
He struck out Amed Rosario and Trent Grisham on changeups after getting ahead of both 0-2, then got Anthony Volpe to ground into an inning-ending forceout.
“He was pretty fired up,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said.
Weaver’s fastball averaged 96.1 mph, 1.4 mph above his season average.
“I don’t think he’s extra fired up. I think that’s who he is. I think that’s what he brings to the table every time,” said Juan Soto, who had a pair of hits and walked twice.
Weaver went back out for the eighth, his first two-inning outing since May last year. He ended the eighth by retiring Judge on a flyout.
“A little smirk," Weaver revealed. “I did say I would acknowledge him at the plate. I didn’t do that a few years ago, and he let me have it. But yeah, it was a cool opportunity to finish that outing against one of the greatest we’ve ever seen and one of best people you’ve ever known.”
Fans at Citi Field were loud, especially when Judge and Soto batted.
“I enjoyed every bit of it.” Soto said. “Definitely, there’s some weird words that they say out there. Most of them, I don’t understand it, but, yeah, it’s really cool.”
With four wins in five games, the Mets improved to 19-26 but remained last in the NL East.
“I think tonight I wanted people to know, especially my teammates, that’s what we’re capable of,” Weaver said. “We could beat great teams in this league and it just takes some fundamental baseball. It takes big moments. It takes some mistakes that we bounce back from.”
Holmes, who left the Yankees for the Mets after the 2024 season. likely will be sidelined until at least August. Weaver doesn't feel an obligation to write Holmes' name in his cap in the future.
“I certainly will not. That would violate a best friendship that I’m striving for and it would just be a little too much too quick,” he said. “He seems like a guy that’s got a lot of friends but not a lot of best friends, so that’s always a challenge, trying to just get something you can’t have.”
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