Mets' Nolan McLean Struggles for Second Straight Start

McLean has allowed a combined 16 earned runs over his last two starts and has seen his ERA jump to 4.40 on the season.

Big things were anticipated out of McLean this season after bursting onto the scene during the final month of last season. At the start of this year, McLean looked like he would not only replicate his 2025 success, but build on it with an even bigger 2026.

Throughout his first eight starts of the year, McLean posted a stellar 2.78 ERA and looked like a sure-fire candidate for not only an All-Star Game selection, but possibly the NL Cy Young Award.

But since then, McLean has been anything but reliable for the Amazins' as he added to the team's current struggles, with the Mets now on a four-game losing streak and 22-32 on the year.

"Combination of things. Getting behind in counts, not landing my off-speed pitches like I should, and I've been hitting guys with two strikes too, which isn't a great recipe for success," McLean said on his last two starts.

The home run ball has also snakebitten McLean during this recent tough stretch. The righty hurler allowed two more home runs against the Reds on Monday and has now allowed eight long balls in just 61.1 innings pitched this season.

McLean didn't mince words when he was asked to pinpoint his struggles.

"It's just bad pitching, honestly," McLean said bluntly. If I'm going to be straight up, just haven't been pitching my best and I gotta be better."

With the Mets already dealing with a beleaguered starting pitching staff, especially after the loss of Clay Holmes (broken fibula), New York is in dire need of their young starter to recapture his dominant form.