Nolan McLean‘s summer resurgence has been absolutely exhilarating to watch this 2026 season. And on Saturday, he put on another show and led the Mets to a 6-2 win over the Astros.
To say McLean was stellar would be an understatement. The 25-year-old twirled seven innings against the AL Central-leading Astros, relying heavily on his fastball to record outs.
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He threw 93 pitches overall, 41 of which were sinkers, 20 cutters, and 15 four-seamers. 82 percent of his pitches were of the fastball variety, and yet, he mowed down an Astros team that is 10th in the majors in OPS.
It was an efficient pitching performance, and because so, McLean wound up with only four strikeouts on the day. An outing, however, that shouldn’t concern those who are glued to analytics.
During McLean’s bounce-back August, he’s now thrown three starts where he’s struck out three, three, and four. Both three-strikeout starts that came earlier in the month were six-inning, one-run performances. Gutsy outings like Saturday.
The win over the Astros lowered McLean’s ERA to 3.06 on the season. He now holds the 13th-lowest ERA in the majors and is more than back on track to battle with Sal Stewart for National League Rookie of the Year honors. McLean did allow one run, but it came unearned as Jeremy Peña advanced to third on a Brett Baty throwing error to lead off the game.
More importantly, McLean’s outing Saturday allowed for the Mets offense to pick the right time to strike. They were held to just one run through four innings, but erupted for three to go ahead in the fifth.
Francisco Lindor was the catalyst in the inning. He doubled to lead off the inning, which could have been an error as Taylor Trammell dropped the ball, and came into score on Juan Soto‘s first base knock since coming off the injured list.
Two more runs came into score after Carson Benge singled to put runners on the corners, and Jared Young flipped a ball down the right field line for a two-run triple.
It was Young’s second RBI base hit of the day, a Saturday that saw the lefty first baseman finish 3-for-4 with three runs batted in. The first RBI hit came in the first inning off lefty opener Bennett Sousa with two outs, which tied the game at the time.
Francisco Alvarez also broke out of his slump with a ringing two-run double in the eighth. Alvarez smoked a hanging slider off Kai-Wei Teng that exited his bat at 98.9 miles per hour, almost clearing the wall by the old M&M seats.
It was a badly needed knock for Alvarez, who was in the midst of a 2-for-27 slump. His last extra-base hit had come on August 15 against the Nationals.
The bullpen rebounded in Saturday’s affair with the Astros. Daniel Duarte struck out two in the eighth but did allow a solo homer to Yordan Alvarez. Then Kodai Senga entered the ninth with a four-run lead and worked around a lead off double via Jose Altuve.
Player of the Game
Nolan McLean was the player of the game for the Mets Saturday. He went seven innings and allowed an unearned run, lowering his ERA to 3.06.
On Deck
The Mets and Astros will play a rubber game Sunday for the series at 3:10 PM. Zac Thornton takes the mound for New York, looking to build off his six-inning, one-run outing against the Brewers. He’ll be opposed by opener Ethan Pecko. The game will be televised on Peacock and broadcast on WHSQ 880 AM.
