Three Mets takeaways after winning two of three against the Mariners
Mets' Nolan McLean walks to the dugout during the sixth inning on Saturday against the Seattle Mariners at Citi Field. Credit: Jim McIsaac
WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — After going more than three weeks without a series victory, the Mets have emerged victorious.
After Friday night’s back-breaking 11-9 loss at Citi Field to open a three-game series against the Mariners, the Mets (66-58) responded with a 3-1 home win Saturday and a 7-3 win Sunday night in the Little League Classic.
Here are three takeaways from the series:
1. Nolan McLean dazzled in his MLB debut
When the Mets needed a glimmer of hope most, McLean provided it.
The Mets had lost 14 of their last 16 games entering Saturday, when the 24-year-old righthander was thrown right into the fire.
He handled it with precision.
McLean threw 5 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing two hits and four walks and striking out eight. He joined Matt Harvey and Collin McHugh as the only players in Mets history to strike out eight in five scoreless innings in their MLB debuts. His curveball registered at an average of 3,305 rotations-per-minute, above Charlie Morton’s MLB-high average of 3,186 rpm.
Mets fans had been clamoring for the team to call up either McLean or fellow righthanded pitching prospects Brandon Sproat and Jonah Tong — the organization’s Nos. 3, 4 and 5 prospects, according to MLB.com — for months. Whether other young arms will follow is to be determined, but McLean’s debut was worth the wait.
“Once I came out of the game, I finally got to take it all in,” McLean said. “And then spending time with my parents and seeing my mom and my dad and my fiancee after the game, that’s when I really appreciated it all.”
2. An injury scare for Alvarez
Since being recalled from Triple-A Syracuse on July 21, Francisco Alvarez is hitting .323 (20-for-62).
But on Sunday night, Alvarez suffered a thumb injury on a headfirst slide into second base as he stretched out a double to lead off the seventh inning. His right hand jammed into the bag and he was pulled for Luis Torrens after the inning.
“He's like, ‘Let me play catch,’ ” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “At that point, I was like, ‘Let's not mess around with it and let's go inside.’ And I basically took it away from him. I didn't want to let him even play catch.”
Alvarez has a history of hand injuries in the past two seasons, the other two being on his left hand. He missed the Mets’ first 25 games this year with a fractured hamate bone in his left hand and missed 52 days with a left thumb sprain last year.
The severity of the injury is unclear, but Mendoza said Alvarez was scheduled to head back to New York for an MRI on Monday.
“[It’s] concerning, I'm not going to lie,” Mendoza said. “Because that's like the third time. But I'm not going to sit here and speculate because we don't know what we're dealing with.”
3. Francisco Lindor has gotten hot
Lindor had entered last week’s homestand on an 0-for-19 skid that stretched to 0-for-21 in the early going of Tuesday’s 13-5 win over Atlanta.
Since then? Lindor is a scorching 14-for-23 (.609).
Lindor has proved to be incredibly streaky, especially this season. But when he is at his best, it adds another level to the Mets' offense.
“The past couple games, it has come down to execution,” Lindor said. “Sticking to my approach, my plan, and executing it.”
Ben Dickson is Newsday Sports' general assignment reporter. He joined Newsday’s high school sports staff in 2023 after graduating from Maryland, where he covered several of the Terrapins' teams.
