ATLANTA — Nolan McLean grew up about six hours from Turner Field, in Willow Springs, North Carolina — an MLB desert whose fandom nonetheless lives in Greg Maddux country. And Friday night, as the Mets’ promising righty got set to make his second major-league start at Truist Park, there was the man Maddux himself.

And Tom Glavine.

And John Smoltz.

. . . and the rest of the 1995 Atlanta team that won the World Series when McLean was negative-six years old. The three Hall of Famers threw out the first pitch before the Mets' 12-7 win, while their old teammates lined the infield. And then McLean, pitching in front of some of the greatest to ever do it, somehow didn’t disappoint.

McLean allowed two runs and four hits with no walks and seven strikeouts in seven innings, and in just two starts

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