Nolan McLean's gem went awry, but dominant start a big positive for Mets
Nolan McLean allowed just two hits through six scoreless innings for the Mets on Thursday against the Arizona Diamondbacks. But his eight-strikeout gem was but a silver lining in what would be a 7-1 loss.
Nolan McLean let out a roar as he bounded off the mound after freezing Arizona Diamondbacks’ first baseman Ildemaro Vargas on a knee-high sinker on the inside corner to close the top of the sixth inning on Thursday night at Citi Field. The Mets ' young right-hander’s emotional explosion came after his seventh strikeout of the night, stranding a leadoff base runner as he protected a 1-0 lead and looked to outduel Eduardo Rodriguez , his foe from the WBC final 23 days prior. Entering the seventh with the score unchanged, McLean said he “felt good” coming in at 85 pitches and facing the heart of the D-backs' order, having allowed just two hits and two walks to that point.
“Felt like I had a lot left in the tank,” he said after the game. But after a leadoff walk and a strikeout, McLean's final pitch of the night, the 100th he threw, was muscled into center off the end of Jose Fernandez' s bat. The next four batters all managed to knock in a run off reliever Luke Weaver , and McLean's dominant start felt like a memory in what would become a 7-1 defeat .
“It’s part of baseball at the end of the day,” McLean said of being the hard-luck pitcher of record. “I’m sure I’ll leave guys out there, and our bullpen’s gonna strand them for me plenty of times this year – and it’s already been done, actually, this year a couple times. It’s part of the game, it’s a long season, I know those guys got my back out there.
” McLean’s final line of his third start of the year: 6. 1 innings, two runs on three hits and two walks with eight strikeouts on 100 pitches (64 strikes). But the numbers are deceptive, as he was better.