McLean vs. Yamamoto as the two young aces face off – Dodgers Digest

The Dodgers (12-4) took the series opener against the Mets (7-10) last night in a 4-0 shutout, highlighted by an eight inning Justin Wrobleski gem. The offense secured the lead in the bottom of the first inning and Wrobleski took it from there. The Mets are really going through it right now, having now been shutout in three of their last four games, with last night being their sixth consecutive loss. They’ll look to their promising young right-hander, Nolan McLean in hopes of righting the ship. The Dodgers will counter with Yoshinobu Yamamoto who will be making his fourth start of the season in this matchup between these two high-profile starters.

7:10 P.M.

Los Angeles

SS
Lindor (S)
DH
Ohtani (L)

CF
Robert Jr.
RF
Tucker (L)

DH
Polanco (S)
C
Smith

3B
Bichette
1B
Freeman (L)

C
Alvarez
LF
T. Hernández

RF
Baty (L)
3B
Muncy (L)

1B
Vientos
CF
Pages

2B
Semien
SS
Kim (L)

LF
Benge (L)
2B
Freeland (S)

P
McLean (R)
P
Yamamoto (R)

The Dodgers got contribution from mostly everyone last night despite only putting up a total of four runs. They loaded the bases in the first inning with no outs, but came across with just one run as David Peterson struck out Freddie Freeman, Andy Pages, and Max Muncy consecutively. Andy Pages was responsible for three of the four runs scored with a three-run shot in the third inning, upping his season OPS to 1.186. Other than that, the offense left nine on base and went just 3-for-12 with runners in scoring position, so they’ll look to better capitalize on their opportunities tonight against a much tougher matchup in McLean.

The Mets have been lifeless and will shuffle things around in hopes of a better outcome tonight. The order gets switched up as they’re no longer facing a lefty, and they also bring in Brett Baty and Carson Benge in the corners to replace Tyrone Taylor and Tommy Pham. None of those outfielders have hit this year, but the best version of the Mets’ lineup features Baty and Benge in some capacity.

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McLean took the loss his last time out against the Diamondbacks, as he allowed two runs on three hits and two walks across 6.1 innings. He tallied eight strikeouts during that outing, and was nearly flawless through six innings having allowed just two hits. He allowed a walk and a single to start the seventh inning before being replaced by Luke Weaver who promptly allowed both inherited runners to score. Arizona is a very competent offense, and holding them to just two hits across six innings is indicative of how good McLean has become. He now has 20 strikeouts to eight walks in 16.2 innings, and is looking to show that his 2.06 ERA in 48.0 innings last season is sustainable as the top pitching prospect in the game.

He throws the highest spin curveball that has ever been recorded in Statcast, his sweeper and sinker move in opposite directions like no other, sits in the mid-to-upper 90’s with his fastballs, and mixes in a cutter and changeup as the cherry on top. He’s just 24 years-old and has as bright a future as nearly any pitcher in the sport.

That is no slight to Yamamoto however, who is entering just his age-27 season and already has two World Series titles and a World Series MVP, in addition to his three Sawamura awards, Olympic Gold Medal, and World Baseball Classic title.

He earned his second win of the year last time out in his best performance of the season, allowing just one run on five hits and one walk with six strikeouts across six innings against the Blue Jays once again. He dominated for the majority of the game and would’ve been perfect through five innings had Kyle Tucker not misread a liner in right field. The sixth inning brought a tad of trouble with George Springer cashing in a run on a double, but the outing as a whole was the sharpest Yamamoto had been this year.

He still produced quality starts in each of his first two outings, going six innings with just two earned runs in each, and will look to continue his steady start to the year against a reeling Mets offense.

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Griff McGarry is a 26-year-old right-handed pitcher with plus stuff and very limited command of it. He had been developed as a starter, but hasn’t been able to rein in the command across five minor league seasons. Across three levels in the minors last season, McGarry struck out 35% of the batters he faced, totaling 124 over 83.1 innings. He also walked 49 batters, hit seven, and threw eight wild pitches. The Phillies had deployed him as a reliever for the first time in his career this year and has logged four innings out of the bullpen in AAA. Could be an interesting option if his command ever becomes passable, similar to Will Klein.