Nolan McLean was average on Sunday, and that was pretty good news for the Mets.

Coming off the worst two starts of his short big league career, McLean’s effective albeit wild outing against the Miami Marlins was a hopeful sign that he will soon regain his dominant form.

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The Mets’ righty held the Marlins to just one run and two hits to qualify for the win and help New York secure an important sweep. But he labored throughout the game, throwing 94 pitches over five innings, walking five, hitting a batter, and striking out just two.

Despite the lack of control, McLean got the outs he needed to stifle a Marlins offense seemingly full of Met-killers. Most notably, he stranded the bases loaded in the fourth, limiting Miami to one run after three walks and a double.

Escaping trouble was something McLean couldn’t do in his previous two starts. Against the Washington Nationals on May 19, McLean allowed nine runs, six earned, over five and two-thirds innings. He followed that by serving up seven earned runs to the Cincinnati Reds in just three and one-third innings.

One reason for the quasi-bounce back on Sunday was a better pitch mix, which McLean and the Mets’ coaching staff have clearly been working on. He threw his sinker (24.5%), cutter (23.4%), and sweeper (22.3%) almost evenly, while also mixing in his curveball (11.7%), changeup (10.6%), and four seamer (7.4%).

Compare that to the Reds game, in which McLean relied heavily on his sinker (42.3%) and sweeper (29.5%) over 78 pitches while throwing just four cutters and changeups combined.

“It’s still a work in progress,” McLean said. “I thought at times I kind of got away from what I’ve been working on between starts. So hopefully, I can continue to clean it up.”

There is plenty to clean up, as McLean struggled mightily to find the strike zone on Sunday and generated just eight swings and misses. But he showed an ability to battle without his best stuff, something that all great pitchers eventually have to do.

“This is the first time he’s been challenged at this level,” said manager Carlos Mendoza. “But if somebody’s equipped to make adjustments and go out there and compete, it’s Nolan.”