NEW YORK -- Carlos Mendoza could not stop himself from gushing.
It was Mendoza who, just two weeks ago, cautioned against christening Nolan McLean a savior. McLean was a highly touted rookie, no doubt. But the way the Mets were reeling, it was going to take more than one prospect to fix what was ailing them.
At least, that was the theory.
Since that time, McLean has produced an 0.89 ERA over three starts, not just affirming himself as a legitimate Major League starter but also raising the ceiling of this team. Backed by McLean’s eight scoreless innings Wednesday night at Citi Field, the Mets (72-61) swept the Phillies (76-57) with a 6-0 victory in the series finale to lop three games off Philadelphia’s National League East lead. That margin now stands at four games with 29 to play.
McLean, the Mets’ No. 3 prospect per MLB Pipeline, and No. 4 prospect Jonah Tong -- who will debut Friday -- figure to pitch a good chunk of those 29. It’s a scenario that excites club officials, which is why as Mendoza sat behind a podium Wednesday evening, he struggled to find the proper words to describe McLean.
“All I can say is, ‘Wow,’” the manager said.
Featuring a fastball that hit 96 mph, a curveball that bent as tightly as any in the sport and four other pitches he mixed in liberally over eight innings, McLean flummoxed one of the NL’s top offenses. After allowing a one-out single to Alec Bohm in the second inning, the right-hander retired 15 consecutive batters before permitting another baserunner.
“That’s one of the best starts I’ve seen him have,” said catcher Hayden Senger, who caught McLean regularly in the Minors. “It was really incredible. He was able to get early outs in counts and keep his pitch count low, but he was also able to strike them out when he needed to.”
“He’s a stud, man,” added third baseman Mark Vientos.
“Even though he’s a rookie,” outfielder Juan Soto said, “he’s like a veteran on the team.”
By the time McLean took the mound for the eighth -- becoming the first Mets starter not named David Peterson to accomplish that feat -- another near-sellout Citi Field crowd was hanging on every pitch. When McLean allowed the first two batters of that inning to reach base, some shifted uncomfortably in their seats.
The next hitter, Nick Castellanos, lofted a fly ball to right field, where Soto took extra care to position himself for a strong throw home despite the six-run margin. When Bohm bluffed down the third-base line then thought better of it, fans at Citi roared in approval. Moments later, when Brandon Nimmo made a similar play from left field, the crowd burst into another ovation.
The runners never budged again. Instead, McLean retired Harrison Bader on a soft comebacker to end his evening, slapping his glove with his fist on his way off the mound.
“I’ve always been a believer in my stuff,” McLean said. “I’m a confident guy. 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.”
Clearly. McLean became the first Mets pitcher to earn a win in each of his first three appearances -- something even Tom Seaver or Dwight Gooden never accomplished. In so doing, he gave New York continued hope that it can make something of this season.
As recently as Monday afternoon, the Mets were seven games back of the Phillies without much realistic chance at winning the division. They subsequently outscored Philadelphia by 17 runs (25-8) over three games to make this something approximating a fair fight again.
In addition to McLean’s success and the excitement of having Tong on the horizon, the offense has transformed into one of the game’s best.
In the third inning Wednesday, Mets hitters rapped out five consecutive hits, plating three runs to back McLean. Vientos added a two-run homer in the seventh and three total RBIs to continue his own personal renaissance, lifting a lineup that has led the Majors in runs for close to three weeks.
“Nine times out of 10, this team is going to get the job done,” Vientos said.
To be clear: The Mets are not quite out of the hole they dug with a dreadful start to August. With barely a month left in the season, they’re not even favorites to win the NL East. But they are quite likely to earn, at a minimum, an NL Wild Card spot. If they do, they’ll be the type of team no one will want to play in October.
With McLean performing like an ace and Tong about to make his own rotation bid, the Mets are a different club than they were two weeks ago. A better club, a more talented club, with a higher ceiling and some real reasons to believe.
“We’ve been missing that type of performance pretty much the whole year,” Mendoza said. “And here we are, when we’ve got to go.”