SF Giants fall to Mets as rookie McLean shines, Alvarez hits two homers

Justice delos Santos, The Mercury News on Apr 4, 2026

Published in Baseball

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SAN FRANCISCO — Rookie right-hander Nolan McLean has legitimate ace upside. He dazzled in his debut last year and is a favorite to win NL Rookie of the Year this season. In Friday night’s 10-3 loss, the San Francisco Giants witnessed first-hand why McLean is being hailed as next up in Queens.

McLean, boasting a nasty repertoire of six pitches, started his night with five perfect, efficient innings, looking every bit of a star in the making as he silenced San Francisco’s (3-5) offense. His final line looked ordinary (5 1/3 innings, two runs, four strikeouts), but he earned his first win as Tyler Mahle allowed five runs over five frames and New York’s (4-4) Francisco Alvarez hit two homers.

Mahle had a very rough first inning, allowing four hits and issuing two walks, but escaped the frame having only allowed two runs despite the Mets having opportunities to put up a crooked number. He helped his own cause by inducing a 1-2-3 double play after allowing the game’s first four batters to reach base.

The right-hander rebounded with back-to-back scoreless frames in the second and third, but New York put up three more runs in the fourth on a two-run home run by Marcus Semien and a solo shot by Alvarez. By inning’s end, the Mets had a commanding 5-0 lead.

Following five perfect innings by McLean, the Giants ended the perfect game, the no-hitter and the shutout in a stretch of four batters.

Harrison Bader and Patrick Bailey drew back-to-back walks to begin the sixth, then Willy Adames plated the Giants’ first run with a one-out ground-rule double. Lefty Brooks Raley entered the game to face the left-handed Rafael Devers and Luis Arraez, and Bailey scored from third on a passed ball that cut the Giants’ deficit to 5-2.

In the top of the seventh, the Mets got those runs back and more. Alvarez hit his second homer of the night, a no-doubt solo shot off JT Brubaker, and Luis Robert Jr. and Mark Vientos both contributed RBI singles to put the Giants in an 8-2 deficit.

The Giants scored a run in the bottom of the eighth on a bloop single by Arraez, but the Mets scored two runs off left-hander Erik Miller in the top of the ninth to put the game away.