Mets now have a blueprint for saving their season
A long and stellar outing from Nolan McLean, coupled with a balanced attack from the offense, set the tone in a big win over the Braves...
What’s up with the Mets? ⚾️
The Mets snapped a two-game losing streak by beating the Braves 12-7 in an offensive explosion in Atlanta on Friday night (box)
RHP Nolan McLean had another stellar outing on the mound, allowing two earned runs and no walks on four hits with seven strikeouts across seven innings
The bullpen struggled again with RHP Reed Garrett and RHP Ryan Helsley combining to allow five earned runs on six hits over the final two innings
The Mets tied a season-high with 21 hits on a big night for the offense - RF Juan Soto led the way by going 3-for-4 with a home run (32), two runs scored, four RBIs, and two walks
The bottom of the lineup also came through in a major way - hitters 6-through-9 all recorded two hits or more, led by 2B Brett Baty’s first career four-hit game
The Mets reportedly signed C Ali Sánchez to a minor league deal (The Athletic)
Injury Updates 🏥
2B Jeff McNeil (shoulder soreness) underwent an MRI on Friday, which came back clean. McNeil wasn’t in the lineup on Friday
LF Brandon Nimmo (neck stiffness) felt better on Friday after receiving treatment and took part in some pre-game activities, but was held out of the lineup
C Luis Torrens (sore hand) was on the bench for the second consecutive game and there are no plans to get any imaging done on the hand
RHP Tylor Megill (elbow sprain) tossed five shutout innings in his latest rehab start for Triple-A Syracuse on Friday, allowing just one hit and one walk while striking out four
Playoff Race 🏁
Both the Phillies and the Reds lost on Friday night, making the Mets’ win in Atlanta even more important. As a result, the Mets are now 6 games back of the Phillies for the NL East lead, and they’ve also improved to 1.5 games ahead of the Reds for the final Wild Card spot in the National League.
Per FanGraphs, the Mets now have a 85.3% chance of making the 2025 playoffs, up from 78.2% on Friday.
Stats of the Day 📊
RF Juan Soto now has 67 career opposite-field home runs - that’s second-most in all of baseball since 2018, behind only Aaron Judge (93) (H/T Sarah Langs)
Soto has now amassed six seasons with 25+ home runs and 100+ walks - that’s the most of any player in MLB history before turning 27
Soto has also now recorded 113 games in which he has at least a home run and a walk before turning 27 - that’s the third-most games in MLB history behind only Jimmie Foxx (114) and Mickey Mantle (115) (H/T Sarah Langs)
RHP Nolan McLean is the first non-David Peterson Mets starter in 62 games to finish 6 innings since RHP Clay Holmes back on June 7th
Who’s Hot? 🥵
RHP Nolan McLean has recorded 15 strikeouts in his first two career MLB starts - that ranks second in Mets franchise history, behind only Matt Harvey’s 18 in 2012
SS Francisco Lindor is hitting .481/.517/.741/.1.258 over his last six games
3B Mark Vientos is hitting .316/.364/.737/.1.100 with two homers and seven RBIs over his last five games
2B Brett Baty is hitting .435/.480/.739/.1.219 with two home runs and three RBIs over his last six games
CF Cedric Mullins is hitting .364/.440/.545/.985 with two doubles, one triple, three walks, and two RBIs over his last six games
Who’s Cold? 🧊
1B Pete Alonso is hitting just .154/.214/.231/.445 with seven strikeouts over his last six games
RHP Ryan Helsley has now allowed 12 runs - eight earned - on 12 hits and five walks in 7.1 innings over nine games in August
Play of the Game ⭐️
A big night from the offense was sparked by the bottom of the lineup. Hitters six through nine all made meaningful contributions at the plate.
Perhaps the most important contribution, however, came from Cedric Mullins in the top of the third inning.
With the Mets already leading 2-0, and Nolan McLean doing his job on the mound, Mullins stepped to the plate with two runners on and two outs. Mullins proceeded to hit a triple to right field, scoring both runners to blow the game wide open and give his starter plenty of early run support.
That hit also set the tone for the rest of the night, with the Mets never taking their foot off the gas offensively.
Down on the Farm 🌾
1B Ryan Clifford (No. 8 prospect, Triple-A): 3-for-4, 2 HR, 3 RBI
OF A.J. Ewing (No. 7 prospect, Double-A): 3-for-5, RBI, run scored, stolen base
RHP Jack Wenninger (No. 13 prospect, Double-A): 6.1 IP, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 7 K
RHP Joel Díaz (High-A): 7 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K
CF Yonatan Henriquez (Single-A): 2-for-5, 2 RBIs, 2 runs scored
BOX SCORES
Single-A STL | High-A BRK | Double-A BNG | Triple-A SYR
Today’s Game 🗓️
Match-up: Mets (68-60) at Braves (58-70)
Where: Truist Park - Atlanta, GA
Starters: RHP Clay Holmes (10-6, 3.64 ERA) vs. RHP Cal Quantrill (4-10, 5.50 ERA)
When: 7:15 PM EDT
Where to Watch: SNY
The Mets just showed how to salvage this season… ✍️
The Mets now have set their own blueprint for success the rest of the way.
Granted, Friday night’s big win in Atlanta was just one game. We’ve seen this team offer hope with a breakout game only for it to prove to be a false dawn the very next day.
However, what we saw last night should now act as the recipe for getting this season back on track.
A starter going deep and a balanced offense offering plenty of run support. What a novel concept!
It all started with Nolan McLean, who has all the makings of a future stud ace just two games into his Major League Baseball career.
Yes, we’re dealing with just a two-game sample size here so it would be foolish to get carried away but, with that said, it is hard not to get excited by McLean’s lofty potential. He has shown in just two big league starts that he has the arsenal, the filthy stuff, and the intangibles needed to become a big-innings, top-of-the-rotation arm.
This is a guy who the Mets could potentially build an entire rotation around over the next couple of years.
But, hey, let’s not get too ahead of ourselves here…
Anyway, McLean was crucial in Friday night’s win because he did something every other starter not named David Peterson has struggled to do throughout 2025 - go deep into the game. McLean gave the Mets a full seven innings, while looking like a grizzled veteran in what was his first road start in the big leagues.
The fact that McLean was able to show such poise, including retiring 11 straight batters at one point, in a tough environment like Truist Park, tells you all you need to know about the rookie’s makeup and potential.
McLean did his job and the fact that he went so deep into the game ensured that another bullpen implosion didn’t lead to a third straight loss. Reed Garrett and Ryan Helsley did their best to throw the game away but, on any other day, being handed a big lead and just two innings should be easy work for this revamped bullpen.
McLean’s long outing on Friday now has to be the mission for the rest of the rotation - the deeper you go, the less stress and pressure on a bullpen that has struggled despite being reinforced at the Trade Deadline.
Of course, an explosive offense also helped. But as Carlos Mendoza has said many times, teams are paced by what they do on the mound, and the Mets clearly have something in McLean, a top 100 prospect this season.
The lineup struck early and often, piling on seven runs on 13 hits in the first five innings alone. The 21 total hits were the most the Mets have accumulated in a game since Aug. 12.
It was a balanced attack, too. Juan Soto and Francisco Lindor led the way at the top of the lineup, while the bottom four hitters all enjoyed big nights at the plate. Brett Baty put together his first career four-hit night, Hayden Senger had a monster night with three RBIs, and Cedric Mullins’ two-run triple in the top of the third helped to blow the game wide open early.
With Brandon Nimmo, Jeff McNeil, Luis Torrens, and Francisco Alvarez all out of the lineup, others stepped up and made big-time contributions to ensure the burden wasn’t all on the likes of Soto, Lindor, and Pete Alonso. Every single hitter in that lineup now has to step up and be ready to do their part on a night-to-night basis no matter what.
That now has to be the mentality the rest of the way.
And the way in which Friday night’s game was won now has to be the blueprint for success going forward. Starters going as deep into games as possible, while getting contributions and plenty of run support from up and down the lineup.
It sounds simple because it is. And the fact that the Mets haven’t gotten enough of the above is why they are in this current mess.
But Friday’s win highlighted what this team is capable of when the basic fundamentals - reliable starting pitching, a balanced offense, and clutch defense - all come together.
More of that going forward, please.
Around the League 🚩
The Brewers have now won 20 of their last 25 games thanks to C William Contreras’ first career walk-off home run in a 5-4 win over the Giants
RHP Bubba Chandler flashed four-digit heat and became the first Pirate in franchise history to record a save in his MLB debut in a 9-0 win over the Rockies
RHP Yu Darvish allowed just one run over six innings as the Padres beat the Dodgers 2-1 to move back level with LA at the top of the NL West
RHP Brayan Bello delivered seven scoreless innings to help the Red Sox beat the Yankees, 1-0
RHP Shane Bieber marked his first MLB start since April 2024 in style, recording six strong innings with nine strikeouts to help the Blue Jays beat Miami, 5-2
A blueprint with the 7-8-9 batters (Taylor, Mullins, and Senger last night) going 8 for 14 with 6 RBIs isn't realistic. What is realistic is the awfulness of the BP. And the awfulness seems to increase day by day. The dream of the starters going deeper helps, but does not eliminate the use of the BP. Did I mention that they've been awful?
The bullpen did all it could to lose this game and had the Mets not been up by as many runs as they were this article is written another way about another bullpen implosion after a starter gives the team 7 innings of 2 run ball. It’s almost shocking to have this type of run support for a good pitcher. I can recall many deGrom starts where he would give up one or no runs over 7+ innings only for the pen to blow it and him getting the ND or even loss. I will say the kid wowed by showing he can be a top of the rotation guy and the fact that he didn’t walk a batter should be something the rest of the pitching staff should take notice of. He attacked the Braves which should be the mindset of every pitcher on this team. You don’t need to strike out everyone. You have 8 guys behind you that will get outs for you. Great outing for the kid. Looks like a better Charlie Morton and that guy is still going at 42? My question is why wasn’t he up here earlier? I hope Stearns learns from this. Kids who have stuff that is over powering minor league hitters will play at the major league level because these guys up here are not looking to hit for average. If you have strikeout stuff it’ll play. Bring the kids up faster and then you don’t need to pay big money on your pitching staff. Baty seems to of had something finally click for him and he looks like a major leaguer. It was a good win but it was just one win. Meh.