With the Mets looking to sweep the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday night at Citi Field to pull within four games of the NL East title and get right back into the division race, the stage couldn't have been brighter for starter Nolan McLean.
Not only was it a huge opportunity for New York, it was also just McLean's third career start. And although the right-hander aced his first two tests and entered the game 2-0 with a 1.46 ERA, there was certainly some added pressure facing the team the Mets are chasing in the standings and knowing what a sweep would mean.
But the pressure didn't faze McLean one bit. In fact, it looked like it added some extra motivation to the 24-year-old who rose to the occasion with eight scoreless innings against a loaded Phillies lineup.
"All I can say is wow," said manager Carlos Mendoza after the game. "That was super impressive. He dominated one of the best lineups in the league. He made it look easy. Just everything about the kid, you know? Not only what we’re seeing on the mound, but the way he’s carrying himself.
"He’s got electric stuff, but he’s got pitch ability. He knows what he’s doing on the mound, he knows how to manipulate the baseball, he knows what hitters are trying to do to him. He’s not afraid to use all of his pitches."
McLean had Philadelphia in his pocket from the start. It started with a 1-2-3 opening inning in which he struck out the first batter he faced on three pitches and needed just nine pitches in total before walking back to the dugout.
The right-hander was rolling from there and faced the minimum through six innings by utilizing his entire mix of pitches to keep the Phillies off balance and guessing all night. Bryce Harper's two-out single in the seventh inning was just the second hit McLean allowed after Alec Bohm had a single in the second (erased on a double play).
"I knew about the lineup going into it, that I was gonna have my hands full and was gonna have to have some good stuff," McLean said. "I mean, top to bottom, they’re stacked with hitters, so I definitely knew I had to bring some good stuff tonight."
Bring it he did.
With the Mets' offense continuing its hot stretch and giving their rookie some runs early, McLean was able to focus on making his pitches and attacking hitters, which he did the entire outing. In fact, McLean was so dominant, he entered the eighth inning with just 76 pitches thrown.
It was in that eighth inning that the first sign of trouble came for the rookie….