Mark Vientos<\/a> homered and drove in three runs as the resurgent Mets moved within four games of first-place Philadelphia in the National League East. They improved to 7-2 against the rival Phillies this year, clinching the season series and a potential postseason tiebreaker.<\/p>\n The teams play a four-game series in Philadelphia from Sept. 8-11.<\/p>\n Editor’s Picks 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<\/a>‘s second-inning single and faced the minimum until Bryce Harper<\/a>‘s two-out single in the seventh.<\/p>\n According to ESPN Research, McLean’s stellar numbers make him the first pitcher in Mets history with a sub-1.00 ERA and 20-plus strikeouts through three career starts (0.89 ERA, 21 K’s). Additionally, his 21 strikeouts are tied for the third most in Mets history over a pitcher’s first three career starts, trailing only Matt Harvey and Nolan Ryan.<\/p>\n Bohm and Max Kepler<\/a> opened the eighth with singles, but McLean preserved the shutout by retiring Nick Castellanos<\/a> and Bryson Stott<\/a> on medium-depth fly outs and inducing Harrison Bader<\/a> to hit a squibber back toward the mound. McLean pounded his right fist into his glove as the Citi Field crowd of 41,893 roared.<\/p>\n Brooks Raley<\/a> tossed a one-hit ninth to close out the five-hitter.<\/p>\n Francisco Lindor<\/a>, Juan Soto<\/a> and Pete Alonso<\/a> had consecutive RBI singles in the third against Taijuan Walker<\/a> (4-7), who gave up four runs and 10 hits in five innings against his former team.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/r1532677_1296x1296_1-1.jpg&w=130&h=130&scale=crop&location=center.jpeg\")
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