Nolan McLean pitched 5 1/3 scoreless innings to earn a victory in his major league debut as the New York Mets topped the visiting Seattle Mariners 3-1 on Saturday.
Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso had run-scoring doubles for the Mets, who snapped a three-game losing streak and won for just the third time in their past 17 games.
Seattle’s Eugenio Suarez broke up the shutout bid with a solo shot to left field with one out in the ninth.
McLean, a right-hander who was a third-round pick out of Oklahoma State in 2023, allowed just two hits — a two-out single by Cal Raleigh in the third and a leadoff single by Dominic Canzone in the fifth. McLean walked four and struck out eight.
Mets closer Edwin Diaz, a former Mariner, worked the final two innings for his 24th save of the season.
McLean, who was a two-way player until focusing exclusively on pitching this season, got out of a bases-loaded jam in the third with a highlight-reel defensive play. After walking J.P. Crawford and Cole Young to open the third, Raleigh lined a single to right to load the bases. Julio Rodriguez hit a hard one-hopper up the middle that McLean reached behind his back to snare, then threw to second base to start an inning-ending double play.
Mariners starter Bryan Woo (10-7) gave up one run on six hits over six innings with two walks and eight strikeouts.
The game’s first run came in the third. Brett Baty, the No. 9 hitter in the Mets’ lineup, grounded a single to right just out of the reach of diving second baseman Young, and Lindor followed with a double into the right-field corner, scoring Baty from first.
The Mets tacked on two runs in the seventh, as Baty led off with a single to right off reliever Caleb Ferguson and stole second. Baty advanced to third on Lindor’s single to left and scored on Juan Soto’s sacrifice fly to center. Lindor was thrown out at the plate by Randy Arozarena on Brandon Nimmo’s single to left. Alonso greeted reliever Carlos Vargas with a double down the left-field line to score Nimmo.
The teams will wrap up their three-game series Sunday at the annual MLB Little League Classic in Williamsport, Pa.
–Field Level Media
