Potential future New York Mets ace Nolan McLean endured a second straight rough outing as he and the Mets suffered a 7-2 loss to the Cincinnati Reds on Monday that dropped New York to 22-32 on the season.
While speaking with reporters after his latest defeat, McLean (2-4) offered a simple explanation for why he is struggling for the first time since he made his MLB debut last summer.
Nolan McLean guilty of “bad pitching” during Mets’ woes
“It’s just bad pitching, honestly,” McLean said, per John Flanigan of SNY. “Getting behind in counts, not landing my off-speed pitches, and I’ve been hitting guys with two strikes — I haven’t been pitching my best, and I gotta be better.”
Last season, McLean largely performed like a big-game pitcher when he posted a 5-1 record with a 2.06 ERA across eight starts. However, Baseball Reference shows that he allowed 16 runs (13 earned) on 13 hits and four walks over his last two games. He pitched a total of just nine innings across those outings.
“I’m a guy, I try to get after it. And for me, I like to touch the mound,” McLean added, per The Associated Press (h/t ESPN). “I think I was a little bit too much intent [on] touching the mound this past week, and it translated a little bit into some fatigue.”
Carlos Mendoza believes Nolan McLean will bounce back sooner rather than later
A Mets team that continues to be one of the biggest disappointments of the 2026 season will need better from McLean if it wants to give fans a reason to keep watching through the summer, especially with fellow starter Clay Holmes currently out of action due to the fractured fibula.
While Mets manager Carlos Mendoza acknowledged after Monday’s loss that McLean is “having a hard time landing the secondary pitches,” Mendoza also expressed confidence that the 24-year-old will soon reclaim his best form.
“He’s a competitor,” Mendoza said about McLean. “He’s not happy, but he’s going to keep going — this is a guy who isn’t going to back down, he’s going to show up tomorrow, put his head down and get back to work — he’s going to get back on track.”
The Mets will look to get back on track and try to end their four-game losing streak when they host the 28-25 Reds on Tuesday evening.