Overview
- On Friday night at Citi Field, rookie Nolan McLean threw a 42‑pitch second inning that nearly ended his start but stranded the bases loaded and limited the damage to two runs.
- McLean returned to finish the fourth inning and was removed with a 93‑pitch total, as manager Carlos Mendoza said the long second inning put McLean in a risky, “tricky spot.”
- The start highlighted McLean’s season-long control issues: he issued three walks in the marathon inning and has 31 walks in 76 1/3 innings this year.
- McLean finished with 93 pitches, 55 strikes, six strikeouts, four walks and said he was tired and plans to work on challenging hitters later in counts.
- The Mets took the 7-5 win and sit 4.5 games back in the wild‑card race, a result that helps now but raises questions about starter workload management and bullpen usage going forward.