Clay Holmes looked much more like the pitcher that the Chicago Cubs hoped they were getting at the MLB trade deadline after acquiring him from the New York Mets.
Holmes began his second start for the Cubs with five perfect innings versus the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday. Perhaps even more impressive, he did so by only striking out two batters. Otherwise, Holmes recorded groundouts on seven of his first 15 outs.
The Cardinals got their first hit with one out in the sixth on a José Fermín single. But Holmes kept St. Louis off the board by getting César Prieto on a forceout to second base, followed by a JJ Wetherholt groundout.
Holmes eventually finished with 1 hit allowed in 6 2/3 innings. He was relieved by Ryan Rolison after walking Jordan Walker with two outs in the seventh inning.
Matthew Liberatore matched Holmes with four perfect innings to begin his start. He gave up his first hit with one out in the fifth on a Nico Hoerner single. Liberatore lasted until the sixth when he allowed a leadoff walk to Tyrone Taylor and Dansby Swanson single.
George Soriano took over for Liberatore and hung a changeup in the middle of the strike zone to Seiya Suzuki, who hit it into the left-field bleachers for a 3-run homer. With the home run, Liberatore finished with 2 runs and 2 hits allowed with 1 walk and 6 strikeouts in 95 pitches.
In his first start for the Cubs, Holmes allowed 4 runs and 6 hits over 4 innings with only one strikeout in a 6-3 loss to the Kansas City Royals. While the right-hander hardly looked impressive, it should be pointed out that Holmes was also making his first appearance since May 15 when he fractured his right fibula.
Prior to getting injured, Holmes was having a strong season, compiling a 2.39 ERA in 9 starts with 45 strikeouts in 52 2/3 innings.
This story will be updated with more information.