McLean struggles – Nolan McLean’s shortest start of the season ended early after costly hits and a rough fourth inning against the Angels.
A promising start turned into a quick exit for Nolan McLean as the Mets ran into trouble versus the Angels in one of the shortest outings of the season.
Misryoum reports that McLean. who had been building his early-season resume. allowed a season-high six hits and three runs over just four innings.. After striking out the first two batters he faced. the momentum shifted when the Angels strung together three consecutive hits in the first inning to push across a run.
In this context, what makes the opening inning stand out is not only the outcome, but the feeling of a game plan slipping just long enough for the opposition to capitalize.
The first run came after a play at third base, where Austin Slater’s tag attempt was ruled successful and the run counted. The Mets did not challenge the call, and the inning moved on with the score already heading the wrong way for McLean.
For Misryoum, that sequence highlights how quickly baseball swings can turn on both execution and the margins of timing, especially when a pitcher is trying to settle after early success.
After the first inning, McLean managed to slow things down for a stretch, retiring seven straight batters.. But the fourth inning brought new pressure.. A one-out walk. a single. and a wild pitch put runners in scoring position. and Vaughn Grissom delivered a two-run single that pushed the Angels further ahead.
With the pitch count rising and the damage done, the Mets made the move to pull McLean after he finished the fourth at 78 pitches, turning to Tobias Myers for the next stage of the game.
At the end of nights like this, Misryoum notes, the story is rarely one single at-bat. It is usually the chain reaction: a rough inning, a runner reaching at the wrong time, and then enough momentum for the opponent to keep pressing.