Nolan McLean overcomes rough first in victory

McLean was thrown into the fire right away when Juan Soto dropped a fly ball against the first batter of the game. Then, with two outs, Masataka Yoshida slapped a weak double just inside the third base line that got caught on the tarp and two unearned runs came around to score. From there, McLean slammed the door. Carson Benge helped him out by throwing out a runner at home plate, but McLean did well despite again not having great feel for either his curveball or sweeper. Without those to lean on, he found success buzzing his four seamer at the top of the zone and it forced six of his eight total swings-and-misses. While it’s felt uneasy at times, McLean will close the first half with a 3.52 ERA, 125 strikeouts, and 39 walks through 107 1/3 innings pitched.

McLean allowed just three hard-hit balls in his first scoreless start of the year. He’s previously allowed only one run five times, including 13 days ago against the Reds when the lone run he gave up was unearned. This makes him 5-5 with a 3.78 ERA ahead of next start Monday in Atlanta.

McLean threw four scoreless innings to start the game and then struck out the first two hitters of the fifth inning before he allowed a single to Pete Crow-Armstrong, a double to Michael Conforto, and a homer to Michael Busch. In the fifth inning, he allowed a one-out double to Nico Hoerner, an infield single to Miguel Amaya, and then another two-out home run to Dansby Swanson. On the day, McLean struck out nine, walked two, and posted an impressive 18 percent swinging strike rate and 36 percent CSW. He didn’t have great command of the four-seamer and sweeper, and a few poorly spotted pitches came back to bite him. He’ll face the Blue Jays on the road next.

McLean will have his scheduled start pushed back an extra day in the wake of Monday’s rainout at Citi Field. It also eliminates the possibility of a two-start week where he would’ve had to face the red-hot Phillies this weekend. It’ll be Sean Manaea taking the ball for the other contest during Wednesday’s twin bill before Freddy Peralta starts Thursday’s series finale.

The run came in the third after a Mark Vientos error and a double to left that a better outfielder than Juan Soto would have caught. It’s just McLean’s fourth victory, though it’s the 10th time this season he’s allowed two runs or fewer. With nine strikeouts today, he’s currently tied for seventh in the majors at 97 on the year. He’s due for home starts against the Cubs and Phillies next week.

In the midst of a frustrating set of starts, this one stands out as being particularly annoying. The Mets put up six runs in support of McLean over the first two innings and he still couldn’t hang on long enough to earn the win. His 42-pitch second inning was a huge reason for that. McLean gave up alternating hits and walks to the first five hitters he faced that frame to bring two runs in with the bases loaded and still nobody out. It was a pure Houdini act to get out of that without any more damage being done with plenty of help from Mauricio Dubón, who chased a 3-1 pitch out of the zone to pop-up and help neutralize the threat. Otherwise, the command of his often stellar breaking stuff remains choppy and he’s not putting away hitters – especially lefties – like he was earlier in the season. He’ll have another chance to right the ship next week against the Reds in Cincinnati.

McLean was solid again on Saturday, holding the Padres to one run over six frames. He scattered three hits and walked three batters while collecting five strikeouts. He’s now allowed one run in back-to-back starts after giving up a combined 13 over his previous two. The 24-year-old right-hander will take a 3.98 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, and an 82/27 K/BB ratio across 71 1/3 innings into a start against the Braves in New York on Friday.

McLean only struck out two, lowering his ERA to 4.21 on the year. The walks were uncharacteristic for the sophomore right-hander, whose ERA estimators suggest he’s pitched better than his results thus far. McLean entered Sunday with the second-lowest left-on-base rate among qualified starters. He’ll aim to get back on track when visiting the Padres next time out.

McLean gave up two runs in the second, but it would have been one if Bo Bichette had made a better effort to start a double play. The Reds then got a solo homer in the third and opened the fourth with a walk, a double, a two-run groundball single past the drawn-in infield and a two-run homer. McLean was left in to get a groundout but then pulled after a HBP. McLean did strike out six, but it was a second straight poor outing for the 24-year-old, and in spite of his strong peripherals, he’s now 2-4 with a 4.40 ERA overall. He’ll probably be better against the Marlins this weekend.

Well, that was unexpected. Fantasy managers can at least take solace in the fact that three of the runs were unearned, as McLean’s defense didn’t do him any favors, but either way it’s the most runs he’s allowed in a start in his brief major league career. The big blow as an inside-the-park grand slam from James Wood in the second inning. McLean gave up eight hits in all — including two homers — while walking two, hitting two batters, and striking out five. The rookie right-hander just didn’t have his usual command in this one and the velocity on his four-seamer was down a tick as well. He’ll attempt to rebound this weekend against the Marlins in Miami.