It was a nice rebound of a start for rookie Nolan McLean on Thursday. He has found plenty of success against the Phillies in his career, and that continued in his latest outing against them.
McLean held Philadelphia to one run over six innings, allowing seven hits and three walks while striking out five. He threw 57 of his 82 pitches for strikes and lowered his season ERA to 3.18, though he was ultimately handed the loss in the Mets’ 3-0 defeat.
McLean faced Philadelphia for the fourth time in his career on Thursday. Across those four starts against the Phillies, he owns a 0.71 ERA with 26 strikeouts over 25 1/3 innings. That’s just two total earned runs allowed.
McLean had to weave around traffic early in the game. Bryce Harper singled and Luis Arraez walked with two outs in the first before McLean escaped the inning. Bryson Stott began the second inning with another single, but McLean struck out Brandon Marsh and induced an inning-ending double play from Justin Crawford. He followed with a perfect third, striking out Garrett Stubbs and Kyle Schwarber.
The Phillies finally broke through in the fifth. Marsh singled and advanced to third before McLean walked Schwarber and Trea Turner to load the bases. Harper then hit a ground ball to Francisco Lindor, and Philadelphia successfully challenged the initial force-out ruling, leading to Marsh scoring. McLean was able to limit the damage to one by getting Arraez to line out with the bases still loaded.
Nolan McLean by Berto Carlo
McLean once again used a strong arsenal that has carried him through his first full major league season. He threw seven different pitches, leaning mostly on his sinker and curveball. His curveball has become his most effective weapon. Entering the day, opponents were batting just .135 against it this season, and it had produced a 37.6% whiff rate.
His sixth inning featured something much more important than just his statistics.
With two outs and runners at the corners, Crawford hit a ground ball toward first base that resulted in a frightening collision involving McLean and Jared Young. Young stayed down before eventually being carted off the field. Mark Vientos took his spot at first base.
Interim manager Andy Green said afterward that McLean was “shaken” by what happened.
“He’s a heck of a person. He’s a great competitor, but I think the humanity hit him pretty hard right there, too,” Green said.
After the delay and emotions, McLean still had to finish the inning. He regrouped and froze Stubbs for a called third strike, stranding runners at the corners and completing six innings of one-run ball.
Lindor described how difficult it was for the Mets to watch Young leave the field.
“It is scary to see one of our brothers, one of the most respected and loved teammates that we have here, like that,” Lindor said. “He’s somebody that we all respect and appreciate, and have love for him.”
McLean’s effort kept the Mets within a run, but the offense was not able to provide much support. Aaron Nola shut the Mets out for seven innings, and Philadelphia added runs in the seventh and eighth against Tobias Myers. New York finished with four hits and was shut out, 3-0.
On the bright side, it was yet another quality showing from the rookie right-hander. McLean once again proved to be effective against a Phillies lineup that has struggled to solve him.
