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.
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