Mets' Nolan McLean's big-league debut gives club spark of much-needed positive energy
Nolan McLean and his Mets teammates are all smiles after defeating the Seattle Mariners on Saturday at Citi Field. Credit: Jim McIsaac
For one day, at least, the Mets cracked the code to getting back in the W column, a place they’ve spent precious little time during the past 2 1⁄2 months.
1). Call up a highly-regarded pitching prospect, in this case Nolan McLean, and let him cook into the sixth inning.
2). Finally get the Fab Four to play in tune, as they combined to go for 6-for-14 and drive in all three runs, including Juan Soto’s sacrifice fly and RBI doubles by Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso, with the Polar Bear earning No. 100 for the season.
3). Keep Tyler Rogers and Ryan Helsley locked in the bullpen.
4). Push Edwin Diaz for a rare two-inning save, totaling 30 pitches, the only blemish being Eugenio Suarez’s one-out homer in the ninth.
That wasn’t so hard, right? We kid, of course. Nothing comes easy for the Mets these days, though Saturday’s 3-1 victory over the Mariners had a different vibe to it. There was the usual desperation, obviously. This was just the Mets’ third win in 17 games, so it’s not like the music was cranking in the clubhouse afterward as they packed for Sunday’s series finale in Williamsport.
But for one afternoon, you could actually see the Mets smile, like they were having fun on a baseball field again. Much of that had to do with McLean, who struck out eight over 5 1⁄3 scoreless innings in his major-league debut, and also provided a youthful glimmer of real hope for a team that had been play through clenched teeth for as long as anyone can remember.
“We needed that,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “We felt the energy. Definitely something that we were missing, especially with how hard this stretch has been.”
The Mets had blown 11 leads in their previous seven games, and the lingering image from Friday night’s 11-9 brutal loss was a downtrodden Francisco Alvarez hanging on the dugout rail, staring blankly into space, as his teammates made the sad march to the clubhouse behind him. Compare that to Saturday, when McLean’s high-spin Wiffle balls were befuddling the Mariners, and the former two-way star turned in the game’s most dazzling defensive gem by starting a double play with a behind-the-back grab of Julio Rodriguez’s sharp grounder to escape a bases-loaded jam in the third inning.
“That was kind of sick,” Lindor said.
McLean had a gee-whiz grin on his face. So did J-Rod, and Alonso. On McLean’s walk off the field, a smiling Alvarez was waiting with a monster high-five.
“I guess the ball found me on that one,” McLean said. “Got a little lucky, hit my glove. Wasn’t really something you draw up, but it worked out.”
Imagine that. The Mets getting lucky. When was the last time you heard someone in blue-and-orange (or purple-and-gray for Saturday’s City Connects) utter those words? Occasionally, all it takes is a promising new face, and after watching McLean dominate the AL’s top wild-card team into the sixth inning, his performance begged the question: What took so long to promote him from Triple-A Syracuse?
Maybe we’ll be saying the same about Brandon Sproat in another few days. But the Mets don’t have time to dwell on the past, and Mendoza was all-gas, no-brake in locking down Saturday’s victory.
As much as the manager’s popularity among the fan base has plummeted in recent weeks, Mendoza’s approval ratings hit rock bottom when he popped from the dugout to retrieve McLean in the sixth inning. The sellout crowd of 42,978 launched into the loudest boos we’ve heard at Citi Field all season — the volume’s been rising lately — and didn’t stop until the ballpark switched to a standing ovation for McLean as he left the mound.
“If I was sitting in the stands, I would be booing myself, too,” Mendoza said, laughing. “I completely understand.”
Levity has been in short supply around Flushing these days, and fortunately for Mendoza, his bullpen moves actually worked this time. After seeing two-thirds of the trade deadline super-pen implode this past week, the Mets got five outs from Gregory Soto and Mendoza wasted no time going to Diaz with the top of the Mariners’ lineup coming to the plate in the eighth.
More proof this day was breaking right for the Mets? Diaz needled only 14 pitches for that eighth, so Mendoza was comfortable bringing him back for the ninth in what was only the fourth six-out save of his career (29th overall this season).
The bad news? McLean won’t take the mound again for another four days, and Mendoza can’t keep pushing Diaz like that.
It’s now up to the rest of the bullpen to do their jobs. But Saturday did offer some signs that the Mets could build on this momentum, primarily because those key offensive pieces are heating up. Lindor is now 11-for-20 with three homers and six RBIs in his past five games and Alonso is hitting .333 (19-for-57) in August with five doubles, six homers and 19 RBIs in 14 games. Could be a few sparks there.
“We were losing in many different ways,” Lindor said. “And today, everything clicked. That’s kind of what we have to do. Pitching, hitting, defense, base-running needs to click on a daily basis. We’re not going to win on talent alone.”
It certainly appeared the Mets added some legitimate talent Saturday by finally starting McLean, and that, for everyone involved, was a game-changer.
David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.
