McLean Has Rough Start In 6-4 Loss Against Yankees

The New York Mets opened the second installment of the Subway Series with a 6-4 loss against the New York Yankees, as starter Nolan McLean got rocked early with the big blow being a three-run homer from Cody Bellinger. 

McLean’s command was off early, and it cost him. The Yankees got on the board in the first, with the rally starting on singles by Ben Rice and Cody Bellinger, and Aaron Judge walked to load the bases. The Yanks got only one run, though, on a Spencer Jones single as McLean managed to wriggle out of the jam.

The Mets got that run back in the second as they capitalized on some poor Yankee defense. Mark Vientos started things off by drawing a walk, and a single to center from Marcus Semien turned into a mess after a throwing error by Jones, with Vientos winding up on third. Christoper Morel then grounded out to get Vientos home, and that tied the game at 1-1. 

That was the best the Mets could do, though, as Bellinger parked one in the short porch after singles from Anthony Volpe and Rice to give the Yanks a commanding 4-1 lead in the second. The Yankees then padded their lead in the fifth with a solo homer from Rice to make it 5-1, and the Mets couldn’t get the big rally to make it a game. 

They did make things interesting late, however. Yankees starter Carlos Rodon provided more length than usual, but once they got Rodon out of the game the Mets scored single runs in the seventh and eighth. Ewing drove home the first of those runs on a single, and Semien got the second one home with a sacrifice fly. 

But the Yanks padded their lead once again via an RBI single from Ryan McMahon, which made it 6-3 going into the ninth with Yankee closer David Bednar on the hill. 

Ewing hit a solo homer, and a Lindor single brought the potential tying run to the plate in the form of Juan Soto. But Soto grounded into a double play to end the game and give the Yankees the win. 

McLean takes the brunt of the blame for this loss, with this game ending a run of good starts with a final line that included five runs, ten hits and a walk to go with five strikeouts. He threw 101 pitches in those five innings, which tells you all you need to know about his command.