NEW YORK -- Over roughly the last two calendar months, from May 26 through the start of Friday’s play, 63 Major League pitchers had thrown at least 50 innings. Of that group, Nolan McLean ranked sixth in ERA (2.08) during that stretch. Yoshinobu Yamamoto was 10th (2.43).
Consider it notable, then, that those two will match up Saturday at Citi Field (7:15 p.m. ET/4:15 p.m. PT on FOX), with Yamamoto starting for the Dodgers and McLean taking the mound for the Mets.
It’s a meeting of two of the pitchers with the best stuff in baseball. Yamamoto, an All-Star who finished third in National League Cy Young voting last season, may be known for the splitter that he throws more often than any other pitch. But he actually has five pitches that rate above-average on the Stuff+ metric, including his four-seam fastball, sinker, slider and cutter. Though Yamamoto held a relatively pedestrian 3.60 ERA as recently as May 12, he has since pitched to a 2.20 mark over 10 starts.
That includes Yamamoto’s last outing: a complete-game two-run performance. It was one of only 11 complete games in the Majors this season.
“He is a special player,” Dodgers reliever Tanner Scott said. “The stuff he did last year in the postseason and what he keeps doing is just crazy. It’s just fun to watch. He leads by example. He wants to be out there. He wants to throw a complete game.”
Yamamoto’s ability to go deep is an ideal to which McLean strives -- one of the primary obstacles, in fact, that’s preventing McLean from taking the next step as a frontline starter. In part because he often struggles with his command, McLean has gone beyond six innings in only 25% of his starts, compared to 50% for Yamamoto.
But McLean has been notably more efficient in recent outings, lasting at least six innings in six straight starts. He’s chalked that up in part to a more dedicated effort to pepper the strike zone with four-seamers and sinkers early in counts, rather than rely on the air-bending -- but less consistent -- qualities of his breaking pitches.
For McLean, the strategy has resulted in a 0.75 ERA over his last four starts, including an active streak of 17 consecutive innings without an earned run.
“I try to use it as much as possible because I just want to go deeper into games,” McLean said of his four-seamer in particular. “Getting whiffs is great and all, but it’s really hard to get a ton of whiffs and go deep into games. You’ve got to have soft contact in there.”
Overall this season, Yamamoto is 10-6 with a 2.78 ERA in 18 starts, while McLean is 7-6 with a 3.34 ERA in 20 outings. Their matchup on Saturday should be a treat for anyone who appreciates high-level pitching.