The first pitch was a ball. The second, Rodríguez lined toward McLean, who fielded the ball on one hop behind his back, and then had the presence of mind to throw to second for a chance at a double-play.

There are many culprits. A starry, highly paid lineup main four of Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto, Pete Alonso and Brandon Nimmo has lacked enough clutch impact. A refortified bullpen has been central to blowing leads in each of the seven games going into Saturday.

New York Mets manager Carlos Mendoza liked what he saw in rookie pitcher Nolan McLean. The 24-year-old right-hander made a highlight reel double play to escape the third inning and earned the win in h

Nolan McLean is as advertised. In fact, in his MLB debut, he had a start only matched by one of the most-hyped young pitchers in Mets history. McLean went 5.1 innings on Saturday and struck out eight without allowing a run.

Losers of seven straight, the struggling Mets are hopeful either Nolan McLean or Brandon Sproat can provide a rotation boost.

New York Mets’ color commentator Ron Darling made a glowing comparison after Nolan McLean’s first big league start.

The identity of the most successful New York Mets teams has been about pitching. Rarely have they been an organization fully dependent on large offensive number