Nolan McLean retired 16 straight batters to start his night, yet the New York Mets still lost 4-0 to the Atlanta Braves. It is a rare sight for a starter to dominate the mound while his own offense stays completely silent. The rookie right-hander pitched six innings and allowed just one run on a solo home run to Ozzie Albies, but that was not enough to secure a win at Truist Park.
The Mets had been scoring runs at a clip of 7.1 per game over their previous seven contests, according to reports. That hot streak ended abruptly on Tuesday night. The team managed zero runs against lefty Martín Pérez, who kept New York hitters off balance all evening. This marked the second time the lineup failed to score during the current eight-game road trip.
A Rookie Finding His Groove
McLean has faced questions about his workload as a first-year pitcher, but he proved those concerns wrong with his latest outing. He extended his season total to a career-high 136 2/3 innings, a number that would have been a major concern for many teams. Instead, he showed he can handle the grind of a long August schedule.
He explained his success by focusing on his routine between games. “I think a lot of it is working out in between your starts, not changing the routine even if you don’t feel the best,” McLean said. He emphasized staying in the weight room to keep his strength up. This approach helped him navigate the Braves lineup without giving up many hard-hit balls.
Interim manager Andy Green praised the effort, noting that McLean threw 85 pitches over six innings. Green pointed out the difficulty of the task for a rookie in the middle of summer. “[But] he’s thrown a lot of pitches his last number of outings, so 85 pitches, six innings, one run and one hit, that’s a good day’s work for him in August in his first year,” Green said.
The Offense Runs Dry
While the pitcher was sharp, the Mets bats could not find a rhythm against a tough opponent. The team had averaged more than seven runs per game leading up to this matchup, but they shut down completely. Lefty Martín Pérez was the key factor in the shutout. His change-up caused trouble for the New York hitters.
Green admitted the team failed to solve the pitcher’s best weapon. “[Pérez’s] change-up was really special,” Green noted after the game. He explained that the Mets simply could not figure out the pitch. “We didn’t make the appropriate adjustments to it. He only left a couple of them up.” That small margin was all Pérez needed to keep the score low.
The loss puts the Mets in a tough spot as they try to stay relevant in the playoff race. They are currently several games out of contention, and this type of shutout loss hurts their chances. The team needs their bats to wake up soon if they want to play spoiler against their division rivals.
Work Still Ahead
McLean knows one good start does not fix every problem. He has been humble about his performance despite the winless outcome. He understands that the season is far from over and that he must keep improving his craft. “There’s still a lot of work to do,” McLean said.
He sees every new lineup as a fresh challenge to learn from. “There’s a lot of games left this season. I wouldn’t say the body of work is finished,” he added. The goal is to keep learning from each outing and navigating different hitters multiple times through the order.
Sources: NY Post Sports
