New York Mets right-hander Nolan McLean made a successful big-league debut on Saturday afternoon in a win against the Seattle Mariners ( box score ). McLean held the Mariners without a run (earned or otherwise) over 5 1/3 innings, in the process becoming the first debuting Mets pitcher in more than a dozen years to accomplish the feat.
McLean permitted two hits and issued four walks on 91 pitches. He struck out eight of the 21 batters he faced before giving way to left-handed reliever Gregory Soto . McLean averaged 94.9 mph on his sinker, his most-used fastball variant, and generated 11 whiffs on 38 swings. That included nine total on his two key breaking balls: a sweeper (his primary pitch) and a curve.
The last Mets debuting starter to exit with a clean sheet was Zack Wheeler