Nolan McLean showed everyone why he might be the real deal, folks. The Mets rookie right-hander absolutely dealt on Saturday, tossing another gem in a 6-2 win over the Astros and snapping New York’s brutal three-game losing streak. This kid is lights out.
McLean’s Masterpiece
What a performance from McLean! He pitched a dominant seven innings without giving up a single earned run. Seriously, that’s his second consecutive shutout appearance, which is just insane for a rookie. He was locked in, leaning on that fastball and cutter like they were the only two pitches in the world, and it was pure magic, drawing soft contact all over the yard. Houston hitters couldn’t touch him. He even cruised through the first five innings on a crazy low 65 pitches, needing only one strikeout to keep that Astros lineup in check. Even when Daulton Varsho walked to open the seventh, McLean didn’t flinch. A fielder’s choice and two more strikeouts and he was out of it, completely unscathed. The man is a wall.
Offense Steps Up, Defense Holds On
It wasn’t all smooth sailing, though. Things got a little bumpy right out of the gate. Brett Baty, getting the start in left, misplayed Jeremy Pena’s very first pitch of the game off the wall. Pena got to third, and Yordan Alvarez immediately scored him on a sacrifice fly. Not exactly how you want to start, right? But the Mets answered back quick. Jared Young, who’s been a total bright spot lately, hit an RBI single in the bottom of the first, scoring Francisco Lindor off Astros’ lefty opener Bennett Sousa. Young’s hit came on an 0-2 count, which is clutch, and Sousa was out of the game for Cristian Javier almost immediately.
The game stayed tied at 1-1 with McLean humming and Javier dealing until the fifth. That’s when Lindor hammered a double off the right-field wall. Then Juan Soto, back from the IL, stepped up and drove him in with a line-drive single. Soto even fouled a pitch off his leg before stepping back in and making his presence felt. Carson Benge singled to advance Soto, and then Young absolutely blasted a triple to score them both!
Yordan Alvarez got another solo shot off Daniel Duarte in the eighth, cutting the lead to 4-2, but Francisco Alvarez had a huge answer. He’d only had two hits in his last 27 at-bats, but he sent a two-RBI double into the gap in the bottom of the eighth, pushing the lead to 6-2. Kodai Senga came in for the ninth and gave up some hard-hit balls, but AJ Ewing was a defensive wizard in center, showing off that speed on a liner from Varsho and then making a crashing catch at the wall to retire Christian Walker. What a way to finish!
So, the Mets are back on the field Sunday at 3:10 PM EDT. It’s the rubber match, and you know what that means: anything can happen. After McLean’s performance and the offense waking up, they’ve got to carry that momentum. Let’s see if they can close out the series!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Amazin’ Avenue.
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