NEW YORK -- Right-hander Nolan McLean was looking to rebound late Monday afternoon from the worst start of his career, when he allowed nine runs (six earned) in a loss to the Nationals on May 19. McLean wasn’t any better against the Reds, throwing 3 2/3 innings in a 7-2 loss at Citi Field.
The way the game started, it looked like McLean was at his best, as he struck out the side in the first inning.
“You watch that first inning, and he is pretty nasty. It’s like, ‘He is on today,’” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said.
But it went downhill after that, and it started with the first batter faced in the second frame -- Sal Stewart. McLean was ahead in the count, 0-2. Suddenly, Stewart was on first base after being hit by a pitch. The Reds ended up scoring two runs in the second. Stewart scored the first run of the game on a groundout by Spencer Steer. Eugenio Suárez then scored the second run on a wild pitch by McLean.
An inning later, Cincinnati added to the lead on a solo homer by JJ Bleday. McLean found himself out of the game in the fourth inning after allowing four more runs that frame, when Tyler Stephenson highlighted the scoring with a two-run homer. McLean was able to get one out before hitting Blake Dunn with a pitch.
"I saw a good amount [of pitches] that first at-bat, and he executed a sinker,” Bleday said. “And the second at-bat, it was kind of in the back of my mind, but he made a mistake and I was just kind of trying to be aggressive to my zone, and I put a good swing on it."
McLean was then taken out of the game in favor of Austin Warren, who was able to get the final two outs of the frame. McLean, who pitched the shortest start of his career, saw his ERA jump from 3.57 to 4.40.
“I didn’t have it, and I have to pitch better,” he said.
McLean and Mendoza seem to know where the problems lie. McLean is having a hard time throwing his secondary pitches for strikes. His changeup, sinker and curveball didn’t have the bite like his four-seamer.
“He is also getting into bad counts. The Reds did a good job attacking the fastball, especially the two-seamer,” Mendoza said. “It comes down to execution.”
“I’ve been hitting guys with two strikes. That isn’t a great recipe for success,” McLean said.
After his unfortunate start against the Nationals, McLean acknowledged that he worked too hard to fix his problems on the mound. In fact, he said his legs “left me pretty early today.”
“I have to find that balance of working on stuff and not doing too much at the same time so you can be efficient. It wasn’t today,” he said.
The Mets aren’t worried about McLean. They believe he will be back at the ballpark on Tuesday trying to figure out what went wrong in his last two outings.
“He is going to get back on track. His stuff is too good for this to keep going,” Mendoza said. “We’ll go back, do some homework and try to help him. It sucks that it happens in back-to-back outings, especially in the middle of this stretch. He’ll get back on track.”
Reds left-hander Nick Lodolo was the antithesis of McLean. He allowed one run in six innings, while striking out seven batters. His only blemish occurred in the sixth inning, when he yielded a solo homer to Marcus Semien. Lodolo loved the run support he received early in the game.
“You definitely have to keep coming after guys, but when you’re up there and know you have a little room for error. … At the same time, you’re trying not to give anything away [as far as allowing runs],” Lodolo said.
The Mets have scored four runs in their last four games. Mendoza said his team can’t make any excuses, because there are big league hitters on the roster.
“They are struggling. We are having problems putting rallies together," he said. “… When you look at a night like tonight, we had nine hits, [no] walks. It’s hard to score three or four runs on singles. You have to be able to drive the ball. We are having a hard time doing that.”