And a rookie shall lead them.
The Mets jumped back into the NL East race Wednesday night, but that might not have been the biggest development at Citi Field. Nolan McLean’s manhandling of a formidable Phillies lineup was just that impressive.
In his third career major league start, the right-hander surrendered four harmless singles over eight shutout innings in the Mets’ 6-0 victory to complete a three-game sweep.
The Mets, who have won five of six since their series loss in Washington last week, moved within four games of Philadelphia for the NL East lead. The teams will reconvene in less than two weeks for a four-game series at Citizens Bank Park. The Mets began the night with a 3 ½-game lead on Cincinnati (which played late in Los Angeles) for the NL’s third and final wild card.
McLean’s brilliance on this night was his efficiency. The 24-year-old rookie needed only 93 pitches — 69 of which were strikes — to throttle Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Harper and Co.
“I knew about that lineup going into it, that I was going to have my hands full and I was going to have to have some good stuff,” McLean said. “Top to bottom, they are stacked with hitters.”
Alec Bohm singled in the second inning, and the Phillies didn’t get another base runner until Harper’s single in the seventh. McLean carved up batters, with his sweeper leading the charge.
“That was supper impressive; he dominated one of the best lineups in the league and made it look easy,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “Not only what we are seeing on the mound, but the way he carries himself.
“He’s got electric stuff, but he’s got pitchability. He knows what he is doing on the mound. He knows how to manipulate the baseball. He knows what hitters are trying to do to him.”
McLean, who struck out six, saw his ERA shrink to 0.89. He left to a standing ovation. Along the way he became the first pitcher in franchise history to record wins in his first three starts.
“I have always been a believer in my stuff, I am a confident guy,” McLean said. “The hitters here are the best in the world and I know that. But I also know that I have good stuff and if I go out there and execute, I can get a lot of guys out as well.”
The Phillies didn’t seriously challenge McLean until the eighth, when he allowed two straight singles to put runners on the corners with nobody out. McLean responded by retiring Nick Castellanos, Bryson Stott and Harrison Bader, without a run scoring.
“He has ice in his veins,” Mark Vientos said. “He’s cool when the moments get tight and hot. There is an exciting future for him.”
The Marlins are next in Queens, with a four-game series beginning Thursday. The highlight of that series for the Mets will be another stud pitching prospect’s MLB debut — Jonah Tong is scheduled to receive the ball Friday.
Five straight hits against Taijuan Walker in the third inning staked the Mets to a 3-0 lead. Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto and Pete Alonso each delivered an RBI single in the inning after Brett Baty doubled leading off and Hayden Senger bunted for a hit.
Walker was on the ropes but struck out Brandon Nimmo before Mark Vientos grounded into an inning-ending double play. It was a rare miss in a big spot lately for Vientos, who entered the day with a .952 OPS in August.
But Vientos atoned in his next at-bat with an RBI single in the fifth that extended the Mets’ lead to 4-0. Alonso walked and Nimmo singled ahead of Vientos after Lindor was thrown out trying to stretch a single into a double to begin the inning.
And Vientos put the icing on the sweep with a two-run homer in the seventh — his sixth blast in his last 10 games.
“This gives us some confidence, for sure, but I think that’s just what we expect of ourselves,” Vientos said of the sweep. “We know how great of a team we are and this is just what we do and it’s exciting.”
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
