NEW YORK — In his Major League debut, Nolan McLean was never likely to avoid trouble altogether. It’s what McLean did once trouble found him that mattered most.
McLean reached behind his back to stab a Julio Rodríguez grounder and start an inning-ending 1-4-3 double play in the third inning of his debut, keeping things scoreless at Citi Field. Half an inning later, the Mets took a 1-0 lead over the Mariners on Francisco Lindor’s RBI double.
A two-way player in college, McLean needed every bit of his athleticism after walking two batters and allowing a one-out Cal Raleigh single to load the bases in the third. The next batter, Rodríguez, hit an 82 mph chopper back to the mound. McLean, whose follow-through had turned him toward first base, reached behind his back to grab it. He then coolly threw to Brett Baty at second to start a relatively easy double play from there.
That was the early highlight for McLean, the Mets’ No. 3 prospect and the 37th-ranked prospect in baseball. The Mets called up McLean from Triple-A Syracuse on Saturday to replace Frankie Montas in the rotation and ideally help their scuffling pitching staff.
McLean offered a glimpse of his potential right away, freezing Randy Arozarena on a cutter to strike out the first batter of his career, then fanning Josh Naylor on a curveball to end the top of the first. McLean struck out four of the first 10 batters he faced, including Arozarena twice.
