Mets Torrens-ial downpour floods Tigers

Mets 12, Tigers 5 (Comerica Park, Detroit, MI)

Mets record: 75-64

Mets streak: W2

WP - Nolan McLean (4-0)

LP - Sawyer Gipson-Long (0-3)

SV - none

Seat on the Korner: Luis Torrens

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.

Although the final score shows a blowout, this was a relatively close game until the 7th, and a close game until Luis Torrens stepped up with 2 outs in the 4th and the Mets having just re-taken the lead, 3-2.

If there was a Turning Point for the run-prevention side, that was also Luis Torrens. Rookie Starter Nolan McLean was struggling with his command, with his wide assortment of pitches continuing to break with the highest spin rate in the MLB, but unable to throw them for a strike with any consistency. McLean surrendered the Mets early 1-0 lead (on Pete Alonso's 1st HR) in the bottom of the first with two 2-out RBI singles following 3-2 walks to the Tigers 3-4 hitters. The 2nd inning didn't start much better, after McLean gave up a 7-pitch walk to Zach McKinstry leading off. McLean seemed flustered and McKinstry took advantage, getting an enormous jump on the first pitch to Dingler. Torrens threw a BB down to 2nd with perfect location, nailing McKinstry and ending a rally before it even started. Although McLean gave up a single to Dingler, he retired the next 14 hitters, striking out a total of 7, and allowed the Mets offense to do their thing.

Torrens throw seemed to send a message to McLean: "Even though you're struggling, we got you. The offense will score and your defense will help you too." McLean settled in and returned to his stellar form.

Need to Know

• Clay Holmes (11-6, 3.60) faces Casey Mize (12-5, 3.95) in tomorrow's 1:10 pm ET series finale.

• Juan Soto is seemingly making history every night. He is now in the exclusive 35 HR, 25 SB, 110 BB club. How exclusive? Barry Bonds (who did it 4 times), Jeff Bagwell (twice) and Chipper Jones. That's it.

• The false narrative that Soto was having an off year hasn't been true for quite awhile. In fact, his June this year was the best month of his career, and his August might be even better. Right now he almost certainly will finish with the 2nd best WAR of his career. That's not an "off year" for the young superstar.

• Yesterday, Soto enjoyed his 116th game of his career with at least one home run and one walk, surpassing Mickey Mantle (115) and Jimmie Foxx (114) for the most in MLB history before the age of 27. And tonight he made it 117, walking to leadoff in the 4th before hitting his 37th home run in the top of the 7th to stretch the Mets lead to 7-2.

• Soto's 112 walks through 139 games is on pace for 131 walks, which would break the Mets club record of 125 set by John Olerud in 1999.

• Soto got another monster walking lead to easily steal his 27th base. He needs 3 more steals to become only the 5th player in Mets history to reach the 30/30 Club (Strawberry, Johnson, Wright, Lindor).

• On that note, Soto (36 HR/27 SB) and Francisco Lindor (26 HR/27 SB) have joined Howard Johnson (36 HR/32 SB) and Darryl Strawberry (39 HR/36 SB) in 1987 as the only pair of Mets teammates to have a 25/25 season...Along with the 1987 Mets, the 1996 Rockies are the only other team that featured two players with a 30/30 season - Dante Bichette (31 HR/31 SB) and Ellis Burks (40 HR/32 SB).

• Soto has safely reached base in 12 straight games, and 29 of his last 30 games.

• Pete Alonso has hit a franchise-record 67 home runs in Interleague Play, the fourth-most in MLB history, 3rd-most among active players. Only Aaron Judge (82) and Kyle Schwarber (78) have hit more.

• Coming into tonight's start, McLean was the first Major League pitcher to record two 7.0+ IP games in his first three career games since Sixto Sánchez in 2020…He is one of eight Mets pitchers to have multiple 7.0 IP games in his first three career games and the first since Dillon Gee (2010)...They join Gary Gentry (3 - 1969), Bill Graham (1967), Tom Seaver (1967), Walt Terrell (1982) , Jason Isringhausen (1995) and Bill Pulsipher (1995).

• Sawyer Gipson-Long started the game very strongly, with his only mistake being a fat pitch on 3-0 that Pete Alonso crushed over the center field fence to give the Mets a quick 1-0 lead. He settled down to pitch 3 strong innings, before his command betrayed him in the 4th (the second time around the lineup). A leadoff walk to Juan Soto led to RBI singles from Jeff McNeil and a sac fly by Gerard Mullins to allow the Mets to retake the lead, 3-2.

• Tonight's first inning bomb was the 4th time in his career that Alonso has hit a home run on a 3-0 pitch. He hit his 2nd home run in the 7th with one hand, reaching for a low change up and flicking his wrist, yet still reaching the seats.

• Brandon Nimmo hit the ball hard on all 3 of his first times up, resulting in 2 base hits on balls with exit velocity over 110 mph.

• Mark Vientos has 8 home runs in his last 16 games.

• The Mets are now 6-8 in their history in Comerica Park

• McLean threw 55% of his outs by groundball, 60% in the majors. This trend continued tonight with 7 ground balls against 2 flyouts. Surprisingly, Carolos Mendoza started Vientos at 3rd and Brett Baty at 2nd, rather than the more sure handed Baty at 3rd and either McNeil (who DH'd) or recently recalled Luisangel Acuna at 2nd (although this is the alignment that finished the last 3 innings of the game after Vientos hit in the top of the 7th).

• McLean became the first MLB pitcher to win his first 4 starts in 11 years, not since Chase Anderson in 2014.

Turning Point

Luis Torrens stepped to the plate right after Cedric Mullins made the 2nd out of the 4th inning on a bases loaded sac fly, to give the Mets a 3-2 lead. The Mets still had 1st and 3rd and with their red hot offense this month, they didn't settle for that. Torrens fell behind 1-2 before driving a the fastball down the right field line, doinking it off the fair pole for a commanding 6-2 lead. With any other starter on the mound, that would not be enough for the Flushing Faithful. But with late season Super Rookie Nolan McLean on the mound, even after some early command trouble, he was able to take the baton and anchor the Mets to their second consecutive victory off the best team in the American League.

Three Keys:

McLean dominant after shaky first inning

McLean's breaking balls moved tremendously as they did in his first 3 starts, but early on this time around, he was not able to hit his spots. In the first inning, he got 2 quick outs (including one on a great play by Alonso) , but he was just unable to locate his breaking ball on key pitches the rest of the inning. He walked the 3-4 hitters on consecutive 3-2 counts, then surrendered back-to-back 2-out RBI singles to Spencer Torkelson and Wenceel Perez.

His 2nd inning didn't start much better, but Luis Torrens nailed Zach McKinstry stealing, despite a huge jump, erasing a leadoff walk, and that seemed to pick McLean up. McLean then retired 14 straight, including striking out the side in the bottom of the 5th (a total of 4 straight Ks), before the Mets blew open this game in the top of the 7th and Carlos Mendoza decided to pull his young stud and let Kevin Herget finish out the rest of the game for a 3-inning save.

McLean has now won all 4 of his first 4 major league starts. He has pitched a total of 27.1 innings in the majors, and has only given up runs in 3 of them.

The Mets basestealers - walking wild?

The Mets ran wild tonight, by stealing 4 bases ... with walking leads. It's the 3rd time in the last 10 days that the Mets have had 4 stolen bases in game. Before that, only 3 times in the last 7 years.

1st base coach Antoan Richardson has encouraged the Mets baserunners to study the opposing pitchers, and time their releases, which has enabled them all season to take walking leads, and steal like a garage sale without grandpa watching.

Coming into tonight, the Mets had stolen 120 bases this season, which ranks fifth in the majors and third in the National League, before stealing 4 more tonight...The team's 90% stolen base percentage is the best in the Major Leagues and the highest in franchise history...The team's 124 steals is their most since they stole 130 in 2011. They have only been caught 14 times all season (some of which were through pickoffs at first base that were ruled "caught stealing").

Mets Offense remains cRISP

The Mets just finished the month of August with a .366 batting average with runners in scoring position (RISP), the highest in a calendar month in team history.

Now that the calendar has turned to September, the temperatures are crisp and the Mets offense remains cRISP. Last night on the first of September, the Mets were 5-for-14, and tonight, they continued this trend with 5 hits in 11 at-bats with Runners in Scoring Position.