The kids are all right — and they just might be enough to save the New York Mets.
Nolan McLean, one of three rookies playing key roles for the Mets, will look to help New York complete a sweep of its three-game interleague series against the visiting Detroit Tigers on Thursday afternoon.
McLean (1-2, 2.78 ERA) is slated to oppose fellow right-hander Keider Montero (2-2, 3.18).
Rookies Carson Benge and A.J. Ewing teamed to give the Mets a 3-2 walk-off win on Wednesday night, as Benge’s one-out single in the 10th inning scored Ewing from second base.
Ewing collected the winning run one night after he authored one of the more memorable debuts in recent team history. He went 1-for-2 with three walks, a two-run triple and a stolen base in a 10-2 victory over the Tigers.
The Mets, who began a six-game homestand Tuesday with the worst record in the majors, promoted Ewing after he hit .326 with 12 stolen bases in 12 games with Triple-A Syracuse.
Ewing’s promotion coincided with the shifting of Benge into the leadoff spot. Benge, a 2024 first-round pick who made the Mets’ roster out of spring training, is 5-for-10 in the last two games to raise his batting average to .230.
Overall, the Mets have won seven of their last 11 games. That run has come on the heels of a 2-15 tailspin from April 8-30 that included a 12-game losing streak — the longest for the club since the 2002 season.
“I feel like we’re all just putting the pieces together slowly, game-by-game,” Benge said. “And I feel like it’s just a matter of time before it all clicks.”
Not much is clicking for the Tigers, who squandered an early 2-0 lead for the second straight night on Wednesday. They lost for the seventh time in eight games.
Framber Valdez returned Wednesday after serving a five-game suspension for hitting Boston Red Sox shortstop Trevor Story with a pitch on May 5. Valdez allowed two runs on five hits over 6 2/3 innings while throwing a season-high 106 pitches against the Mets.
But the Tigers went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position and were hitless after Riley Greene’s two-run single in the first inning. Automatic runner Dillon Dingler was stranded at second base in the 10th inning when pinch hitter Jahmai Jones struck out, Greene popped out and Matt Vierling walked before Wenceel Perez flied out.
“We’re definitely battling,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “I don’t see anybody quitting. But there is always the conversation about pressing and trying to do too much and swinging out of the zone and not swinging enough. Right now it feels like all of the above.”
Neither McLean nor Montero factored into the decision following similar starts last Friday. McLean gave up one run on three hits with one walk and six strikeouts over six innings in the Mets’ 3-1, 10-inning win over the Arizona Diamondbacks, and Montero allowed one run on three hits with one walk and four strikeouts over six innings in the Tigers’ 4-3 loss to the Kansas City Royals.
McLean won his lone previous start against the Tigers last Sept. 2, when he surrendered two runs on three hits over six innings in the Mets’ 12-5 victory.
Montero has yet to oppose the Mets.
–Field Level Media
