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Try it freeNolan McLean left quite the first impression.
The NBC Sports Philadelphia broadcasting duo of Tom McCarthy and John Kruk raved about the Mets’ rookie after he dominated the Phillies in a 6-0 win Wednesday — even comparing him to perhaps the best pitcher in the sport: the Pirates’ Paul Skenes.
“We’ve seen (Paul) Skenes twice,” McCarthy said, “we’ve seen some other pitchers that were pretty dominant, but (McLean) was really dominant.”
Skenes, a two-time MLB All-Star and the reigning NL Rookie of the Year, currently boasts a 2.07 ERA. He was the first overall pick by the Pirates in 2023.
As for McLean, Wednesday marked his most challenging task to date against a tough Phillies lineup, hoping to avoid a sweep, and he aced the test.
He faced the minimum through six innings and didn’t crack when Philadelphia mounted its first rally in the eighth inning of a 6-0 game by placing runners on the corners with no outs.
McLean induced two fly outs and a grounder to avoid allowing a run.
He yielded just four hits while striking out six to improve to 3-0 with a 0.89 ERA.
“What can you say?” McCarthy said. “Sometimes you face a pitcher that is absolutely dominant. And it doesn’t matter how the Phillies have struggled, Nolan McLean was dominant and would’ve been dominant, it seems, even against a hot Phillies team.”
Kruk agreed with McCarthy’s statement and then complimented the youngster for his approach.
“If the Phillies won the first two games of this series, that young man wouldn’t have changed anything he’s done. You would think, ‘Oh, well, we won two out of three.’ It didn’t matter if it was a sweep or whatnot,” Kruk said. “That young man is going to be a dang problem for every team he faces going forward in his career. His stuff is some of the best stuff I’ve seen all season.”
The Mets now trail the Phillies by just four games in the NL East and own the tiebreaker, thanks to their 7-2 edge in the season series.
The teams will meet again in Philadelphia from Sept. 8-11 in a series that could determine whether the Phillies repeat as NL East champions or if the Mets pull off an improbable upset.
McLean is tentatively lined up to pitch in that series, provided the Mets don’t skip anyone.