Hello, Nolan! McLean's debut exactly what the doctor ordered in Mets win

Mets 3 Mariners 1 (Citi Field, Flushing, NY)

Mets record: 65-58

Mets streak: Won 1

WP - Nolan McLean (1-0)

LP - Bryan Woo (10-7)

SV - Edwin Diaz (24)

Seat on the Korner:

We select the star of the game and virtually invite him to a Seat on the Korner, just as Ralph Kiner used to do for his studio postgame show on WOR-channel 9 broadcasts in the early decades of the Mets.

We've been clamoring for some new blood in the starting rotation. and boy did Nolan McLean give it to us. He thew 55 strikes out of 91 pitches in 5 and 1/3 shutout innings while striking out eight and by the end of the game, he had already achieved cult status. Carlos Mendoza was booed for pulling him, someone in the stands had already purchased a McLean jersey, and every cutaway of him on the big scoreboard after his outing was met with wild cheers as his outing led the Mets to a 3-1 victory over Seattle on Saturday.

Need to Know

• With the win and the Phillies loss, the Mets climb to within 5 games back of the N.L. East lead.

• The Mets are now 40-24 at Citi Field this season.

• McLean became the 6th Mets pitcher to record at least 8 strikeouts in his major league debut. Kodai Senga was the last to do it in 2023.

• Francisco Lindor went 2-for-4 with a double, an RBI, and a stolen base. It was his fourth multi-hit game in a row, and he has 6 RBI in his last three games.

• Brandon Nimmo and Brett Baty also had multiple hits for the Mets today.

• Baty and Lindor stole the 38th and 39th bases in a row for the Mets without getting caught.

• Pete Alonso's RBI double in the 7th gave him 100 RBI on the season. This is his 4th season with at least 100 RBI.

• Edwin Diaz's 6 out save was his second two inning save of the season (7/12 vs Kansas City)

Turning Point

So you're pitching in your first major league game, you're in the third inning and you're facing Julio Rodriguez with the bases loaded. How do you handle the situation? Easy ...

You catch the grounder behind your back and turn a 1-4-3 double play. More rookies should try this.

Francisco Lindor would drive in a run with a double in the bottom of the inning and the Mets wouldn't look back.

Three Keys

Attack Mode

Here's what I absolutely love about McLean's outing: When he got to two strikes on a hitter, he didn't waste any pitches. He went after hitters throwing quality pitch after quality pitch. He threw one ball in those situations, and that was to Rodriguez in the 6th ... and he wound up striking him out on the very next pitch.

For a team that walks a ton of guys, McLean was such a breath of fresh air. The hitters will adjust, of course. But even from the upper deck it was apparent that he trusted his stuff and attacked.

The Big Guns Fired Rounds

It's always nice when the runs are produced by the big guns in the lineup. Today's runs were driven in by Lindor, Soto, and Alonso.

Lindor in particular is heating up to the point where he could start carrying this team on his back. Jeff Passan mused this week that the Mets need three players to get hot: a hitter, a starter, and a reliever. Lindor looks to be that hitter. If they can get two more by the end of the season, they'll turn this around.

Plans Change

First off, give a ton of credit to Gregory Soto, who came in for McLean in the 6th and threw an inning and 2/3's of shutout ball with two strikeouts.

So when the 8th inning started, Carlos Mendoza had a decision to make. Stick to the original plan and have an 8th inning guy to bridge it to Diaz? Or go nuclear and have Diaz go for the 6 out save.

The way Ryan Helsley has been going, and the fact that the Mariners had Cole Young, Randy Arozarena, and Cal Raleigh coming up in the 8th, it really wasn't a decision at all. Cue the trumpets:

Diaz worked around a Raleigh single and struck out two in the 8th. He gave up a long homer to Eugenio Suarez in the 9th but stayed aggressive, throwing 22 strikes out of 31 pitches. He, like McLean had done earlier, didn't fool around and try to nibble which made it easier to work around trouble. But most importantly, he got it done in his super sized outing on a day where the Mets really, really, really needed a victory.