Mimicking a tactic they used two nights earlier against another rookie starting pitcher, the Rangers took Nolan McLean’s first 18 pitches Sunday.
It may have caught the right-hander by surprise, but it didn’t derail him.
McLean allowed only a walk in that first inning and by the time his outing concluded he had fired six scoreless, in just his latest superb performance.
“I wasn’t too competitive with first and second pitches, I was getting behind in counts, so I would like to do a little better with that going forward,” McLean said of his first inning, which still included two strikeouts.
The Rangers used a similar approach with Jonah Tong on Friday, and the rookie fell into early discord before his first-inning removal.
McLean perhaps has too much working for him to get rattled.
“It looks like [the Rangers] had a good plan there, especially against his sweeper, where they took some pitches early in counts ” manager Carlos Mendoza said after the Mets’ 5-2 victory in 10 innings. “They were aggressive on that pitch and [McLean] kind of recognized that and he started using that sinker. He started using that changeup … that is what makes this guy who he is.”
McLean got double plays turned behind him in the fourth and sixth innings. Overall, he allowed five hits and struck out seven, with two walks.
During a losing streak that had reached a season-high eight games before Sunday, the Mets had a 6.27 ERA. But McLean wasn’t part of the problem, allowing only one run in a start against the Phillies last Monday. McLean still hasn’t allowed more than two earned runs in a start.
“He’s impressed me every day when he’s on the mound,” Francisco Alvarez said. “He’s a guy that can move the ball around. He can control all his pitches, so that is what makes him so good.”
McLean’s 1.19 ERA is the lowest for a Mets pitcher in his first six major league starts. The previous record was Terry Leach’s 1.73 ERA. McLean is also the first pitcher in franchise history not to allow an earned run in his first three starts at home.
“I am not a huge stats guy,” McLean said. “I try to go out there and give my team the best chance to win every single time.”
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
