New York Mets pitcher Nolan McLean continued his impressive season on Sunday, throwing six scoreless innings against the Chicago White Sox. This performance brought his season total to 148 ⅔ innings, moving him closer to his ambitious goal of 200 innings pitched for the year.
McLean's outing, which included one hit allowed, four walks, and six strikeouts, marked his third consecutive start pitching at least six innings while giving up one run or fewer. The Mets ultimately lost the game to the White Sox, 2-1.
"Those are good hitters that had really been swinging it well against us all series, having tough at-bats," said interim manager Andy Green. "I thought he was on the attack all day. Mixed pitches. He was really unpredictable. It was hard to know what he was going to do, so I felt good about what he did today."
Despite facing a bases-loaded jam in the third inning after allowing a two-out single, McLean induced a three-pitch strikeout of Andrew Benintendi to escape the threat. "I felt like I made all the pitches I wanted to and ended up walking them," McLean said of the situation.
Last season, McLean pitched 161 ⅔ innings across both the minor leagues and the majors. He currently holds a 3.21 ERA in 26 starts this season. McLean is also a contender for the National League Rookie of the Year award, alongside teammate Carson Benge.
When asked about the Rookie of the Year race, McLean stated, "Not a ton. My job is to go out there and try to put my team in the best position to win. If you control that, good things tend to happen. I think any competitor would like to win the award, but I don’t pay too much attention."