Coming off three seasons as the New York Yankees' closer, Clay Holmes is taking the bump for the New York Mets on Opening Day the same day he is turning 32 years old.

The bullpen did its job after Holmes exited, keeping the Mets in striking distance. Huascar Brazobán was sharp, tossing 2.1 scoreless innings, and Danny Young followed with another clean frame. They gave the offense a shot to rally, but the bats couldn’t deliver.

Holmes became the seventh pitcher to start on Opening Day in his Mets debut. Roger Craig (1962), Don Cardwell (1967), Mike Hampton (2000), Tom Glavine (2003), Pedro Martinez (2005) and Johan Santana (2008) were the others. Tyrone Taylor received the start in center field over Jose Siri, but it wasn’t an easy decision for Mendoza.