NEW YORK (AP) — Nolan McLean became the first New York Mets pitcher to win his first three major league starts, tossing eight magnificent innings Wednesday night in a 6-0 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies that completed a three-game sweep.
Mark Vientos homered and drove in three runs as the resurgent Mets moved within four games of first-place Philadelphia in the NL East. They improved to 7-2 against the rival Phillies this year, clinching the season series and a potential postseason tiebreaker.
The teams play a four-game series in Philadelphia from Sept. 8-11.
New York began the night with a 3 1/2-game lead over Cincinnati for the final National League wild card.
The Mets are 8-3 since McLean (3-0) made his debut Aug. 16 against Seattle. The 24-year-old right-hander allowed four hits and walked none with six strikeouts, throwing 95 pitches and lowering his ERA to 0.89. He retired 15 straight batters following Alec Bohm’s second-inning single and faced the minimum until Bryce Harper’s two-out single in the seventh.
Bohm and Max Kepler opened the eighth with singles, but McLean preserved the shutout by retiring Nick Castellanos and Bryson Stott on medium-depth flyouts and inducing Harrison Bader to hit a squibber back toward the mound. McLean pounded his right fist into his glove as the Citi Field crowd of 41,893 roared.
Brooks Raley tossed a one-hit ninth to close out the five-hitter.
Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto and Pete Alonso had consecutive RBI singles in the third against Taijuan Walker (4-7), who gave up four runs and 10 hits in five innings against his former team.
Vientos added an RBI single in the fifth and a two-run homer in the seventh. Brandon Nimmo had three of New York’s 12 hits.
Key moment
New York opened the third with five straight hits off Walker in an 11-pitch span.
Key stats
The Mets batted .568 (21 for 37) with runners in scoring position during the series. They have won 10 straight and 24 of 30 against Philadelphia at home, counting last year’s playoffs.
Up next
Phillies RHP Aaron Nola (2-7, 6.52 ERA) starts Thursday night against Cal Quantrill (4-11, 5.51) and the visiting Atlanta Braves in the opener of a four-game series.
Mets RHP Clay Holmes (11-6, 3.60 ERA) pitches Thursday night against Miami.
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