Could Nolan McLean become the next star pitcher for the Mets? He was dominant again as the Mets finished a sweep of the Phillies.
NEW YORK — Nolan McLean's dominance in his third major league start could not be captured in the box score alone.
It could be seen in the haphazard swings and reactions from the seemingly overpowered Phillies offense throughout the night.
Trea Turner tried to hold back on a fastball and his bat went spinning toward his dugout. Bryce Harper hacked at a high fastball and sent his lumber helicoptering into the Mets dugout. Bryson Stott ditched the batter's box as McLean sliced a sinker through the inside of home plate for a called strike three.
Through it all, the adoration grew in spades for the 23-year-old rookie, who has quickly asserted himself as a sorely-needed force in the Mets starting rotation.
It was a performance to remember from McLean silenced the Phillies across eight innings, allowing four hits while striking out six to lead the Mets to a three-game sweep in a 6-0 victory in front of 41,893 fans on Wednesday night at Citi Field.
In the process, McLean became the first pitcher in the history of the Mets to secure a win in each of his first three starts. He improved to 3-0 while carving his ERA down to 0.89.
His performance helped the Mets secure their fifth win in six tries and a 10th straight victory over the Phillies at Citi Field. Over the course of three days in Flushing, the Mets trimmed their deficit in the NL East down to four games behind the Phillies while locking up the tie breaker by winning the seventh game in nine contests between the two sides. (The two teams play four more times Sept. 8-11 at Citizens Bank Park.)
One of the most difficult tasks for the Mets' starting rotation throughout the 2025 season has been getting deep into games.
Despite facing the explosive Phillies lineup, McLean made that effort seem like child's play.
In only his third start of his major league career, the Mets rookie right-hander was toying with the Phillies lineup.
Through six innings, McLean had faced the minimum number of Phillies batter, erasing the lone hit — a sharp single by Alec Bohm up the middle in the top of the second inning — one pitch later on an inning-ending double play to Pete Alonso at first base.
He needed just 16 pitches to get through the first two innings. After Bohm's hit, McLean recorded 15 straight outs before Harper singled up the middle with two outs in the second inning.
McLean's first four strikeouts in between the first and fourth innings all came on different pitches. Everything was working for the right-hander as he filled the strike zone. Seventy-one of his 95 pitches (74.7 percent) landed in the strike zone.
In the meantime, the Mets offense blasted off against Phillies starter Taijuan Walker with five straight hits in the bottom of the third inning. Brett Baty doubled into left-center field and Hayden Senger got a little fortunate on a hard-hit bunt that landed out of reach of Walker.
The top of the Mets lineup - Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto and Pete Alonso - then knocked three straight RBI singles to move the Mets ahead 3-0.
With McLean in a groove, the Mets tacked on a run in the bottom of the fifth on an RBI single by Mark Vientos. The Mets third baseman added a two-run blast to left-center field off Phillies reliever Tanner Banks in the bottom of the seventh inning.
And then the position players repaid the favor for McLean after Bohm and Max Kepler knocked back-to-back singles ti lead off the eighth inning. Nick Castellanos sent a fly ball into the air in right field and a sharp throw by Juan Soto kept Bohm frozen to third base. And then the same happened when Stott sent a fly ball to Brandon Nimmo in left field.
Mets fans rose to their feet and dialed up the volume as the scoreless outing remained intact. McLean put a bow on his outing, getting a slow dribbler to the mound by Harrison Bader to complete the eighth inning.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Nolan McLean dazzles to polish off NY Mets sweep of Phillies
Category: Baseball
