Desert Duel

"With the roof open - a rare occurrence that makes Chase Field a far more pleasant place to see baseball - Nolan McLean held Arizona to just a Nolan Arenado home run over six. McLean's night could be described as impressively unimpressive: He couldn't get his pitches to behave, with his sweeper particularly disobedient, but mixed and matched and called audibles and figured out a way to get through the enemy lineup. That's a hallmark of a frontline starter who'll beat you with his mind as much as with his arm, accolades McLean has earned despite still having rookie status."

"Which isn't to say it wasn't also nerve-wracking to witness: McLean had a somewhat similar game his last time out against the Angels, an outing in which he made it work until the one inning when he couldn't. And this time around, after a second-inning Mark Vientos homer the Mets had forgotten how to hit again, doing absolutely nothing against the unprepossessing Ryne Nelson. (Alternate narrative: Nelson figured it out as well. Always worth remembering the other guys are trying to win, too.)"

"And so the game came down to bullpen roulette: Some reliever was going to screw up, and the question was whose uniform he'd wear. Would it be the Mets' road grays, as happened on Thursday's non-off day when Craig Kimbrel once again looked like his reasons for being on a roster have dwindled to the nebulous Veteran PresenceTM? Or would it be Arizona's home ... gradients? (I could spend two paragraphs deriding the Serpientes City Connects, but why bother? This is a franchise that's never had a non-ridiculous uniform in the first place.)"

"Juan Morillo? Mets couldn't do anything with him, click, empty chamber. Luke Weaver? Click. Got in trouble"

Nolan McLean held Arizona to a single Nolan Arenado home run over six innings with the roof open at Chase Field. His performance was uneven, with his sweeper not behaving, but he adjusted by mixing pitches and calling audibles to navigate the lineup. The Mets managed only a brief offensive burst, including a Mark Vientos homer in the second inning, and then produced little against Ryne Nelson. With both offenses largely stalled, the outcome shifted to bullpen roulette, where one reliever’s mistake would decide the game. The Mets’ relievers struggled early, including Juan Morillo and Luke Weaver, as trouble developed in the late innings.

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