Nolan McLean Shines: Mets Beat Phillies in Historic Night
New York Mets pitcher Nolan McLean has made history by becoming the first pitcher on the team to win his first three starts in the league. On Wednesday night, McLean pitched eight magnificent innings, leading the Mets to a 6-0 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies, completing a three-game sweep.
Mark Vientos stood out with a home run and three RBIs, propelling the Mets to close within four games of first place in the National League East. The Mets improved their record to 7-2 against the Phillies this season, securing the season series and a possible tiebreaker for the postseason.
The teams will face each other in a four-game series in Philadelphia from September 8th to 11th.
Since McLean’s debut on August 16 against Seattle, the Mets have an 8-3 record. The 24-year-old right-hander allowed four hits, didn’t walk any batters, and struck out six, throwing 95 pitches and lowering his ERA to 0.89. He retired 15 consecutive batters after Alec Bohm’s single in the second inning and faced the minimum until Bryce Harper’s single with two outs in the seventh.
According to the data, McLean’s impressive numbers make him the first pitcher in Mets history with an ERA below 1.00 and more than 20 strikeouts in his first three starts (0.89 ERA, 21 strikeouts). In addition, his 21 strikeouts are tied for third in Mets history in a pitcher’s first three starts, behind only Matt Harvey and Nolan Ryan.
Bohm and Max Kepler started the eighth inning with singles, but McLean preserved the shutout by retiring Nick Castellanos and Bryson Stott with medium-depth fly balls and inducing Harrison Bader to hit a ground ball to the mound. McLean punched his right fist into his glove as the crowd of 41,893 at Citi Field roared.
Brooks Raley pitched a one-hit ninth inning to close out the game.
Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto, and Pete Alonso hit consecutive RBI singles in the third inning against Taijuan Walker (4-7), who allowed four runs and 10 hits in five innings against his former team.
Vientos added a simple booster in the fifth inning and a two-run home run in the seventh. Brandon Nimmo connected three of New York’s 12 hits.
At the start of the night, New York had a 3 1/2 game lead over Cincinnati for the final National League wild card.
