Nolan McLean delivered eight shutout innings, allowing four hits, issuing no walks and recording six strikeouts while throwing 95 pitches. McLean lowered his ERA to 0.89 and amassed 21 strikeouts through three starts, becoming the first Mets pitcher with a sub-1.00 ERA and 20-plus strikeouts in that span. The Mets completed a three-game sweep of the Phillies, improved to 7-2 against Philadelphia this season, and moved within four games of first place in the NL East. Mark Vientos homered and drove in three runs, and Brooks Raley closed with a one-hit ninth.
The Mets are 8-3 since McLean (3-0) made his debut Aug. 16 against Seattle. The 24-year-old right-hander allowed four hits and walked none with six strikeouts, throwing 95 pitches and lowering his ERA to 0.89. He retired 15 straight batters following Alec Bohm's second-inning single and faced the minimum until Bryce Harper's two-out single in the seventh. According to ESPN Research, McLean's sterling numbers make him the first pitcher in Mets history with a sub-1.00 ERA and 20-plus strikeouts through three career starts (0.89 ERA, 21 K's). Additionally, his 21 strikeouts are tied for the third-most in Mets history over a pitcher's first three career starts, trailing only Matt Harvey and Nolan Ryan.
Bohm and Max Kepler opened the eighth with singles, but McLean preserved the shutout by retiring Nick Castellanos and Bryson Stott on medium-depth flyouts and inducing Harrison Bader to hit a squibber back toward the mound. McLean pounded his right fist into his glove as the Citi Field crowd of 41,893 roared. Brooks Raley tossed a one-hit ninth to close out the five-hitter.
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