NEW YORK — By the time Nolan McLean took the mound for the eighth inning Wednesday night, fans at Citi Field were hanging on every pitch. When McLean allowed the first two batters of the eighth to reach base, some shifted uncomfortably in their seats. When McLean escaped that jam — the only real trouble he faced all night — unscathed, most of them rose to their feet in a standing ovation.
The Mets (72-61) have not dug themselves fully out of the hole they created with a dreadful start to August. But their 6-0 win Wednesday and three-game sweep of the Phillies (76-57) made up significant ground, shaving Philadelphia’s National League East lead from seven games to four. New York outscored the Phillies by 17 runs (25-8) in the series and has won a franchise-record 10 consecutive home games against them.
For the third consecutive game, Mets hitters peppered Phillies pitching with a string of singles and doubles, stacking together five consecutive hits to score three times in the third. By the time Mark Vientos hit a two-run homer in the seventh inning, the outcome was mostly settled.
That was largely thanks to McLean, who followed his first two excellent Major League starts with an even better third one. After allowing a one-out single in the second inning, McLean retired 15 consecutive batters before permitting another baserunner. He holds an 0.89 ERA through three outings.
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