Francisco Lindor stays hot, Mets support Nolan McLean's scoreless debut in 3-1 win over Mariners

The Mets defeated the Seattle Mariners 3-1 at Citi Field on Saturday, riding an impressive major league debut by Nolan McLean, to win a game they needed badly after losing 14 of their previous 16.

The Mets scored two runs in the seventh inning and then Carlos Mendoza went to Edwin Diaz for a close it out with a six-out save.

Here are the takeaways…

-After an especially rough week for the Mets, McLean gave fans some hope with an outstanding major league debut, throwing 5 1/3 scoreless innings. The righthander gave up two hits, both singles, and four walks while striking out eight Mariners’ hitters. He threw 91 pitches.

McLean showed an impressive six-pitch arsenal, living up to his reputation for great breaking stuff as he kept the hitters off-balance with a mix of spin and speed. His four-seam fastball was clocked as high as 97 mph while he threw his slow curve, which got some key swings-and-misses, between 78-81 mph.

Along the way, Mclean made a dazzling play to escape a bases-loaded situation in the third inning. With one out, he jammed Julio Rodriguez, inducing a fairly hard comebacker, and from his follow-throw, McLean reached behind his back to stab the ball, then quickly turned and fired to Brett Baty at second to start a 1-4-3 double play as the Citi Field crowd roared.

McLean was pulled in the sixth after giving up a leadoff walk to the M’s slugging catcher Cal Raleigh, and then striking out Rodriguez. Mendoza wanted lefty Gregory Soto for the lefty-hitting Josh Naylor, and though the manager was booed by the crowd for taking out McLean, Soto got out of the inning.

The switch-hitting Raleigh was the only Mariner that McLean didn’t get out, walking him twice and giving up a rocket of a single in the third inning.

-Hot-hitting Francisco Lindor got the Mets on the board, delivering a line double into the right-field corner in the third inning, scoring Brett Baty from first base to give the Mets a 1-0 lead. Baty had singled to lead off the inning.

Lindor went 2-for-4 on the day and is now 11-for-20 (.550)  in his last five games, with three home runs, two doubles, six RBI, and seven runs scored.

-The Mets pulled away with a two-run rally in the seventh. Baty and Lindor each singled and stole a base, and Juan Soto, who has struggled badly with runners in scoring position, delivered a run with a sacrifice fly to fairly deep left-center.

After Lindor was thrown out at the plate on Brandon Nimmo’s single to left (a bad decision to send Lindor, after he had hesitated to make sure the ball fell for a hit), Pete Alonso doubled down the third-base line to score Nimmo and make it 3-0.

-With all of the problems the Mets’ bullpen has had this week, Mendoza wasn’t messing around with a 3-0 lead, going to a well-rested Diaz to start the eighth.

Diaz pitched a scoreless eighth, getting two strikeouts, while allowing a single to Raleigh. In the ninth, he gave up a one-out home run to Eugenio Suarez but closed out the win without any drama.

-Baty and Lindor each stole second base during the seventh inning, as the Mets extended their streak without being caught to 39 straight steals.

It ties the longest such single-season streak in MLB history since caught stealings were first tracked in 1951. The Red Sox had 39 straight in 2013. They have the all-time record of 40 straight, including one in the 2014 season.

Game MVP: Nolan McLean

The Mets desperately needed a boost and McLean delivered, living up to his status as a high-ceiling prospect in Triple-A.

McLean has dominated in the minors since being drafted out of Oklahoma State in 2023, rising to No. 37 in MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 prospects list.

Highlights

What's next

The Mets and Mariners wrap up their three-game set on Sunday night. First pitch for the Little League Classic in Williamsport, PA, is set for 7:10 p.m.

Clay Holmes (9-6, 3.71 ERA) will take the mound for New York, while George Kirby (8-5, 3.71 ERA) will be on the bump for Seattle.

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