Nolan McLean tosses eight shutout innings as Mets complete sweep of Phillies

The Mets blanked the Philadelphia Phillies by a score of 6-0 on Wednesday night, completing a three-game sweep to get within 4.0 games of first place in the NL East.

Here are the key takeaways…

— Coming off two terrific starts, Nolan McLean was dealing once again, allowing one hit (an Alec Bohm single) but facing the minimum through three innings to go along with three punchouts. The 24-year-old made it look easy against a talented Phillies lineup, needing just 49 pitches to get through the fifth while still facing the minimum.

— The Phillies rarely made hard contact off of McLean, but even when they did, they still couldn't get runners on base. With two outs in the top of the sixth, Harrison Bader smoked a ball to left center that looked to be at least a double, if not a homer, but Jeff McNeil made a terrific leaping catch at the wall to end the frame.

— McLean was a strike-throwing machine and the definition of efficiency. With a pitch count in the mid-50s to start the seventh inning, McLean allowed a two-out single to Bryce Harper, breaking a streak of 15 straight Phillies retired in order. J.T. Realmuto popped out harmlessly to end the inning, though, as McLean finished the seventh at just 76 pitches. 

–The only bit of trouble McLean found himself in all night came in the eighth, when back-to-back singles put runners at the corners with no one out. But shallow fly balls to right and left, and strong throws by Soto and Brandon Nimmo, respectively, kept Bohm from scoring from third, and Bader tapped back to the mound to end the threat.

McLean's night ended after 8.0 pristine innings of shutout ball, as he allowed just four hits and struck out six without a walk. McLean now has a 0.89 ERA through three major league starts.

— The Mets just kept passing the baton in the third inning, scoring three runs on five hits against former Met Taijuan Walker. What started with a Brett Baty hustle double eventually led to three straight RBI hits by Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto, and Pete Alonso. The Mets took a 3-0 lead, and with the way McLean was throwing the ball, that would end up being more than enough.

Walker battled to give the Phillies 5.0 innings, but he gave up another run on aMark Vientos two-out RBI knock in the fifth. The right-hander allowed four earned runs on 10 hits while striking out three and walking one.

— Vientos provided an exclamation point in the bottom of the seventh, again with two outs. This time, Vientos clobbered a two-run homer to left off of Tanner Banks, breaking the game open at 6-0. Vientos proved last season that he can carry an offense when he gets hot, and he certainly appears to be back in a groove at the plate.

Game MVP

McLean, who electrified the Citi Field crowd for 8.0 shutout innings. McLean became the first Mets starter ever to win his first three starts.

Highlights

Upcoming schedule

The Mets stay home for a four-game series against the Miami Marlins, starting on Thursday night at 7:10 p.m. on SNY.

Clay Holmes goes for the Mets, while the Marlins have not yet announced a starter.

Read the full article here