ATLANTA -- On a night when the Braves celebrated the 30th anniversary of their 1995 World Series title, Mets rookie starter Nolan McLean earned his second MLB win in as many big league starts and helped New York’s offense spoil Atlanta’s fun.
McLean, who earned his first career win in his MLB debut on Saturday at Citi Field with 5 1/3 scoreless innings against the Mariners, allowed two runs on four hits with seven strikeouts over seven innings to help the Mets to a 12-7 win over the Braves on Friday at Truist Park.
It was an inauspicious start to McLean's outing, as his first pitch bounced well in front of the plate and hit Braves leadoff hitter Jurickson Profar.
But the 24-year-old recovered, allowing just four baserunners over the remainder of his start.
“I felt good,” McLean said. “Early in the game I was getting behind in counts, so I didn’t love that. Obviously, the first pitch of the game [I fell] down and hit [Profar]. I didn’t love that. It went [well] after that. I found a second wind after that, probably in the fifth inning. I felt good.”
McLean became the first non-David Peterson Met to go at least six innings in a start since Clay Holmes on June 7. He's also the first Mets pitcher to win his first two big league starts since Kodai Senga in 2023 and Steven Matz in 2015.
“That’s in the past,” said manager Carlos Mendoza of the six-inning drought among his starting staff. “Hopefully now guys can feed off each other. We’re [going to] need those guys. We know how important they are. We [have to] get them going.”
McLean gave up his first career run in the third on Profar's RBI single. His first home run came an inning later when Ronald Acuña Jr. took him deep. McLean went right back at Acuña in the former MVP’s next at-bat in the sixth, striking him out swinging with a 97 mph fastball up in the zone.
McLean walked off the mound with a scream and a fist pump.
“I made some really good pitches on him,” McLean said. “Obviously he got me in the one at-bat. It’s going to happen. I was pumped up to get him a second time.”
New York’s offense gave McLean plenty of run support as it struck early and often. Mets hitters tallied seven runs on 13 hits in the first five innings, finishing with the most hits (21) the club has totaled in a game since accumulating 16 – also against the Braves -- on Aug. 12.
The 21 hits tied their season high in a game. They also had 21 hits in a 19-5 win over the Nationals on April 28. It was the fourth time New York has tallied 17 or more hits this season.
"It definitely makes it easier to fill up the strike zone knowing that your offense is putting up the numbers they were,” McLean said.
Brett Baty led the Mets with his first-career four-hit game in a 4-for-6 performance, scoring three runs, while Juan Soto went 3-for-4 with a home run and four RBIs.
After issuing four walks in his debut, McLean wanted to clean it up on the mound -- and he did on Friday, not allowing a free pass to Atlanta.
"I still had some of those misses that I wanted to clean up, but overall the results were better,” McLean said. “There was still some stuff execution-wise that I would love to clean up.”
McLean, a Willow Spring, N.C., native who grew up a Braves fan, didn’t have to wait long to hand a loss to the team he grew up watching.
“It was cool,” McLean said. “I try to treat every start the same, but it does have a little bit of a different feeling whenever you’ve been to some of these games [and played] right up the road. Guys you’ve watched on TV, you’re getting to play against them. So it’s really cool.”
The Mets’ 2023 third-round Draft pick (91st overall) had his close family in attendance.
“My parents and my fiancée were here, and then my aunt and uncle came as well,” McLean said. “My college trainer also showed up.”
The Braves held a pregame ceremony to commemorate the aforementioned 1995 World Series team, welcoming Hall of Famers Chipper Jones, Tom Glavine, John Smoltz and Greg Maddux, all of whom McLean got to pitch in front of.
"I was trying to watch the [pregame ceremony],” McLean said. “Any time you get to watch something like that, it’s kind of cool. Those guys [were] some of the best to do it.”