The last of those walks forced in a run and resulted in Holmes’ removal in the fifth. Huascar Brazobán took over and issued another based-loaded walk before escaping the inning. Holmes came into this one with just two walks in three starts this month and 25 in 14 outings this season. It went as his first loss since May 20. He’ll take a 7-4 record and a 3.04 ERA into his next start, which will again come against the Braves.

Solid again, Holmes has impressively asserted himself as a legitimate starting pitcher through the first half of this season. Yet, he was pulled a bit surprisingly after just five innings of work and 79 pitches here. His velocity dipped a good bit during that fifth inning and the Mets would likely want to manage his workload a tad given since he’s already thrown more innings than he has in any major league season to this point since he’s working as a starter again. Of course, the Mets’ bullpen promptly coughed up their four run lead in the following inning. Be on the lookout for Holmes’ fastball velocity as he continues to work through his transition and whether or not the Mets continue to limit him around 80 pitches, just like they did here. Also, after not allowing a home run through his first seven starts of the season, he’s now given nine in his last seven starts. His next is scheduled to come on the road against the Braves.

Holmes gave up nine hits, but the only run he allowed came on a solo homer off the bat of Ryan McMahon. The 32-year-old didn’t issue a free pass, and he struck out six in another successful outing. Holmes now has an ERA of 2.95 on the season, and you cannot say the conversion to starter has been anything but a success. He gets the Rays next weekend.

Holmes gave up a solo homer to Orlando Arcia in the third and then a hit by a pitch and a two-run homer to Tyler Freeman in the fifth. Only one other batter reached against him, and the runner then was erased on a double play. Holmes is keeping it together nicely even as his home run luck has disappeared. After going without allowing a homer in his first seven starts, he’s given up seven in the last five. Still, he has a 3.34 ERA during the current stretch anyway. He’s 6-3 with a 3.07 ERA overall, and he’s due to pitch in Coors against the Rockies next time out.