Nolan McLean's rocking debut gives Mets major lift with win over Mariners

No one tasked Nolan McLean with saving this floundering team, and in the days leading up to his major-league debut, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza cautioned against viewing him as some sort of savior.

The goal, in fact, was modest in his start Saturday against the Mariners.

“Ideally, you just want it to end on a positive note,” Mendoza said before the game.

But that was not the McLean we saw in the Mets' 3-1 win. Because it turns out, that when McLean said earlier this week that his “favorite thing to do” is compete, he really, really meant it.

By the time the Mets No. 3 prospect walked off the mound to a standing ovation in the sixth inning, he had done more than just end on a positive note, he managed to succeed where so many of the established starters in this rotation have failed during this epic summer swoon that’s threatened to chase the Mets straight out of the playoffs.

Amid a sea of disappointment, McLean — the 24-year-old kid dropped into a full-blown crisis — did the improbable. He didn’t disappoint.

McLean pitched 5 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing two hits with four walks and eight strikeouts; he threw 91 pitches, 55 for strikes, and in addition to his much-lauded sweeper, showcased a devastating curveball that stymied opposing batters. Going into the day, the Mets had dropped 14 of their last 16 games.

“Unbelievable,” Mendoza said, later adding that yes, he’s earned another start. “We needed that. We needed that as a team, an organization, given where we’re at and how hard it’s been for us.”

McLean’s curveball registered at an average of 3,305 rotations-per-minute (for reference, the highest average curveball spin rate in the majors belongs to Charlie Morton of the Tigers, who clocks in at 3,186 rpm) – a trait that introduces more movement and greater break on the pitch. Of McLean’s 11 swing and misses Saturday, five came on the curveball.

He is just the sixth Met to record eight strikeouts or more in his major-league debut.

“Surreal,” McLean said. “I couldn’t have dreamed it up any better – from the fans to being able to go out there and being able to compete against a good ball team…Once the [first] batter stepped in there, it was just competition mode from there.”

Francisco Lindor’s RBI double in the third was the Mets' sole run off starter Bryan Woo. They scored two more in the seventh on Juan Soto’s sacrifice fly and Pete Alonso’s RBI double. Eugenio Suarez hit a solo homer in the ninth off Edwin Diaz, who earned the six-out save.

McLean struck out the first batter he faced, Randy Arozarena, on a lively, painted cutter that froze the big leftfielder while [McLean's] mother, Tammy, taking video in the stands, appeared to hold back tears.

The former two-way player and infielder also flashed some leather: With the bases loaded and one out in the third, Julio Rodriguez fisted a slider in on his hands toward the mound and McLean, with his back turned to the play, made the improbable backhanded grab, initiating a 1-4-3 double play. It was a play so bizarre, even Rodriguez left the field laughing.

“It was very, very cool,” Lindor said. “His awareness was cool…It felt like every at-bat was his at-bat. He was in control of the game the whole entire time.”

The Mets made the most of it, scoring in the bottom of the frame: Brett Baty led off with a single and Lindor, busting out of the slump that marked his last two months, doubled to the right-field corner to make it 1-0.

McLean retired seven out of eight batters at one point. He walked Raleigh to lead off the sixth and got Rodriguez looking on a 1-and-2 sinker that just nicked the black. That was his 91st pitch and McLean, who’d never thrown more than 97 pitches in the minors was done, much to the chagrin of the sold out crowd of 42,978. Mendoza lifted him to a chorus of boos that quickly turned into a standing ovation for McLean, who came out in lieu of Gregory Soto, who pitched a perfect 1 2/3 innings.

“I heard them loud and clear,” Mendoza said of the boos. “If I was sitting in the stands, I would be booing myself, too. I completely understand. But I have a responsibility here...[and] we have a plan in place.”

The Mets two seventh-inning insurance runs were sparked by Baty’s leadoff single off Caleb Ferguson. Baty stole second, and moved to third on Lindor’s single. It was Lindor’s fourth straight multi-hit game. Soto’s sacrifice fly made it 2-0. Brandon Nimmo then singled, but Lindor was cut off at the plate. The throw, though, landed Nimmo at second, allowing him to score on Alonso’s double into the left-field corner off Carlos Vargas. It was Alonso’s 100th RBI of the season — the fourth year in a row he’s reached the mark, and tied for second in baseball.

Meanwhile, twice during the later innings, a startled McLean was shown on the scoreboard — a curtain call of sorts — and twice, the crowd erupted. He may have not saved this season, but the kid saved the day.