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Behind scenes with NY Mets and Mariners at MLB Little League Classic

The Little League Classic was a day chock full of events for the Mets and Mariners on Aug. 17, 2025, in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

NEW YORK — Nolan McLean’s dominance in his third major league start went way beyond the box score.

It could be seen in the haphazard swings and reactions from the seemingly overpowered Phillies offense throughout the night.

Trea Turner tried to hold back on a fastball and his bat went spinning into the warning track along the third-base line. Bryce Harper hacked at a high fastball and sent his lumber helicoptering into the Mets dugout. Bryson Stott ditched the batter’s box as McLean sliced a sinker through the inside of home plate for a called strike three.

Through it all, the adoration grew in spades for the 23-year-old rookie, who has quickly asserted himself as a sorely-needed force in the Mets starting rotation.

It was a performance to remember from McLean, who silenced the Phillies across eight innings, allowing four hits while striking out six to lead the Mets a 6-0 victory and a three-game sweep in front of 41,893 fans on Wednesday night at Citi Field.

“All I can say is wow,” Carlos Mendoza said. “That was super impressive. He dominated one of the best lineups in the league. He made it look easy. It’s just everything about the kid, not only what we’re seeing on the mound but just the way he carries himself. He’s got electric stuff but he’s got pitchability.”

In the process, McLean became the first pitcher in the history of the Mets to secure a win in each of his first three starts. He improved to 3-0 while carving his ERA down to 0.89.

“It’s an honor, honestly, and a testament to our hitters as well, just giving me a lot of comfort when I go out there with the five-run, six-run leads every time,” McLean said. “It’s been nice.”

His performance helped the Mets secure their fifth win in their last six games and a 10th straight victory over the Phillies at Citi Field.

Over the course of three days in Flushing, the Mets trimmed their deficit in the NL East down to four games behind the Phillies while locking up the tiebreaker by winning the seventh game in nine contests between the two sides. (The two teams play four more times Sept. 8-11 at Citizens Bank Park.)

“We want to continue to take it one game at a time. Baseball’s crazy. Everything happens fast here,” Mendoza said. “We have to continue to control the things that we can control and that’s coming in day in and day out with a mission, with a purpose and that’s winning ballgames.”

One of the most difficult tasks for the Mets’ starting rotation throughout the 2025 season has been getting deep into games.

Despite facing the explosive Phillies lineup, which entered the game with MLB’s eighth-best OPS, McLean made that effort seem like child’s play.

In only his third start of his major league career, the Mets rookie right-hander toyed with the Phillies lineup. He showcased a moxie to match.

“I’ve always been a believer in my stuff. I’m a confident guy,” McLean said. “Obviously the hitters here are the best in the world, and I know that, but I also know I have good stuff and if I go out there and execute, I can get a lot of guys out, as well.”

Through six innings, McLean had faced the minimum number of Phillies batter, erasing the lone hit — a sharp single by Alec Bohm up the middle in the top of the second inning — one pitch later on an inning-ending double play to Pete Alonso at first base. He had only thrown 55 pitches in six innings.

Everything was working for the right-hander as he filled the strike zone. Seventy-one of his 95 pitches (74.7 percent) landed in the strike zone.

He led with his sweeper, which he threw 28 percent of the time, but threw his sinker, curveball and fastball each at least 16 percent of the time and induced swings and misses on six different pitches.

“He can backdoor the sweeper pretty well and pretty consistently. He can front hit the two-seam. He can go changeup off the two-seam. He can go sweeper of the two-seam,” said Hayden Senger, a familiar face behind the plate. “He’s got a lot of different options and I can call a lot of different pitches.”

He needed just 16 pitches to get through the first two innings. After Bohm’s hit, McLean recorded 15 straight outs before Harper singled up the middle with two outs in the second inning.

“It’s hard to describe,” Mendoza said. “It’s a guy that’s making his third start at the big league level and where we’re at on the schedule, who we’re facing and for him to just go out there and ‘Let me be myself, and I want to challenge you guys.’ But he’s got so many weapons that it’s hard as a hitter. … He’s so unpredictable, so it’s just exciting.”

McLean’s first four strikeouts in between the first and fourth innings all came on different pitches, including Turner on an outside sweeper to begin the game and Harper on a low curveball to close the fourth inning.

In the meantime, the Mets offense blasted off against Phillies starter Taijuan Walker with five straight hits in the bottom of the third inning. Brett Baty doubled into left-center field and Hayden Senger got a little fortunate on a hard-hit bunt that landed out of reach of Walker.

The top of the Mets lineup – Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto and Pete Alonso – then knocked three straight RBI singles to move the Mets ahead 3-0.

With McLean in a groove, the Mets tacked on a run in the bottom of the fifth on a Mark Vientos RBI single. The Mets third baseman added a two-run blast to left-center field off Phillies reliever Tanner Banks in the bottom of the seventh inning. It was Vientos’ sixth home run in his last 10 games.

“Personally, I think this is just me right now,” Vientos said. “I think this is the type of hitter that I know I am and I’m glad that I’m feeling back to normal. I’m feeling great and I think it’s a perfect time to feel great.”

The position players repaid the favor for McLean after Bohm and Max Kepler knocked back-to-back singles to lead off the eighth inning. Nick Castellanos sent a fly ball into the air in right field and a sharp throw by Juan Soto kept Bohm frozen to third base. And then the same happened when Stott sent a fly ball to Brandon Nimmo in left field.

Mets fans rose to their feet and dialed up the volume as the scoreless outing remained intact. McLean put a bow on his outing, getting a slow dribbler to the mound by Harrison Bader to complete the eight scoreless innings.

“It goes to show you that it’s contagious,” Mendoza said. “They’re feeling it and it’s just a good feel as a whole to have that type of performance and just the energy, the ballpark, everything.”