Nolan McLean is one of many Mets starters who have experienced a bumpy, up-and-down season. But as of late, the rookie has looked more like himself. More like the guy who came up last season and performed so well down the stretch in 2025. McLean had another strong outing against the Braves on Sunday, helping the Mets end their three-game losing streak with a nail-biting 10-9 win.

While the overall outcome was great, the start of McLean’s day did not go to plan. Three of the first four hitters reached base, capped off by a two-run RBI single from Michael Harris II to put Atlanta on the board. McLean followed that up with a throwing error, which ultimately helped the Braves get another run via an RBI single from Mauricio Dubón. Just like that, the Mets were trailing 3-1 to end the first.

After that, the Braves struggled to put McLean under any significant pressure. Atlanta had a runner in scoring position in the second, but failed to score. McLean was in complete command from that point on, retiring 12 of the final 14 batters he faced. He went out to start the seventh, giving up a bloop single to Austin Riley on a pitch outside the zone, ending his outing. McLean finished with six innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits and one walk over 96 pitches.

“I’m satisfied with it; obviously, we’ll take the wins anytime we can get them,” McLean said postgame.

Since May 31, McLean is 4-1 with a 2.70 ERA over seven starts. Over that stretch, he has lowered his ERA from 4.40 to 3.73. In addition to that, he has thrown at least six innings in five of those seven appearances. Something the rest of the rotation has really struggled with in recent weeks and months, especially.

During May, McLean went through a stretch where he gave up six home runs in four starts. Mistake pitches in the middle of the zone were really hurting him. More often than not, opposing hitters were making him pay for anything located poorly. But since then, he has been able to limit the long ball. Only two home runs allowed over his last 40 innings.

McLean and Christian Scott have been the two bright spots in the Mets’ rotation, certainly since Clay Holmes went on the injured list. With the team 16 games under .500, the pitching staff could look very different in a few weeks. Nonetheless, McLean is here to stay, and his outings have significantly improved.