Nolan McLean gave up a three-run home run to the fifth batter he saw Thursday afternoon, but the Mets rookie still pieced together an encouraging outing.
This despite clearly not having his “A” game in a 9-4 Mets win over an equally-flailing Tigers team that secured their first series sweep of the season.
After some early struggles with his command, McLean pushed through seven innings and finished with six hits, three earned runs and seven strikeouts.
“I mean, got to take it for what it was,” McLean said after the victory. “Obviously, gave up the homer in the first, so it was a quick 3-0 lead for them. Like I’ve talked about a bunch, my job is to go as deep as I can regardless on how well I’m pitching or not. So I’m pretty happy with getting into the seventh today.”
The 24-year-old exploded with emotion after capping the seventh with back-to-back strikeouts of Jake Rogers and Kevin McGonigle.
In the wake of his slow start, McLean said he had to find what was working and get creative “a couple of times” to find the pitches that were connecting.
He found his curveball late, he noted, before his sinker control came back to him a bit.
“Man, he was pretty impressive,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “Because not only did he give up that three-run homer, but I thought stuff-wise today was a little light. The sinker wasn’t there — just it took him a while. And for him to go seven innings there, it was pretty impressive. He fought, he battled, and he just kept trusting his pitches. I thought him and [catcher Hunter] Senger were on a really good page there.
“He takes a lot. You get hit on the face the first inning and then you just see it, stuff-wise, it was a battle for him.”
Juan Soto was in the lineup after the Mets’ $765 million man exited Wednesday night’s game due to an injury scare.
He batted third as the DH, going 2-for-5 with a homer and two RBIs.
Asked if he was concerned about an injury, Soto didn’t seem like it.
“I wasn’t concerned much,” he said. “I’d done it before. The point is, I wasn’t able to push. It was getting slow in big times, so I was just like trying to make a smart move, you know? But definitely, I know how to handle it.”
Francisco Alvarez underwent surgery on a torn meniscus in his right knee Thursday, Mendoza announced.
“The timetable is kind of what we announced, but we’re looking at the eight-week mark,” Mendoza said.
Francisco Lindor isn’t expected to return to the lineup anytime soon.
“He’s getting better, showing sign of healing,” Mendoza said. “Now we’re moving to the phase where [it’s] the strength part. In the weight room, before he starts his running progression. Positive sign. We just got to let it heal.”
Mendoza said he didn’t think Lindor needed any more imaging done on his left calf, which he strained April 22 while running the bases against the Twins.
Though the Mets manager didn’t have an updated timeline, he acknowledged the 32-year-old infielder was still a ways away.
