ATLANTA — By the time Nolan McLean returned to the mound Friday for the fourth inning — a danger zone for Mets starting pitchers — he had plenty of latitude.
The Mets had already erupted for seven runs, the kind of gift seldom bestowed upon any starting pitcher. McLean, in his second major league start, just had to throw strikes and keep going.
The rookie remained strong and minimized base runners.
In the end, he found rare air by getting through seven innings, allowing just two runs in the team’s 12-7 victory over the Braves at Truist Park.
McLean’s performance snapped a streak that began June 7 in which no Mets starter other than David Peterson had completed six innings.
Peterson had nine such performances during that stretch.
Clay Holmes was the previous Mets starter other than Peterson to complete six innings.
The Mets had no shortage of offensive heroics on this night, starting with Juan Soto, who reached base five times and hit the Mets’ only homer, a two-run blast in the seventh.
Brett Baty went 4-for-6 to establish a career high for hits in a game, and Francisco Lindor reached base four times.
“I think our offense did such a good job to give me so much breathing room that I was able to pound the strike zone and make them put it in play,” McLean said. “I ended up getting ahead in some counts and then punch out guys when I had a chance.”
The Mets, who snapped a two-game skid, matched a season high with 21 hits.
Five members of the starting lineup had at least three hits on a night the Mets went 8-for-18 with runners in scoring position.
But much of the enthusiasm was for McLean, who surrendered two earned runs on four hits with seven strikeouts.
It followed the 5 ¹/₃ scoreless innings he delivered against the Mariners in his major league debut last Saturday.
McLean walked four in that initial outing and worked between starts to correct that sloppiness. He did not walk a batter Friday.
“I still had some misses that I want to clean up,” McLean said. “But overall, the results were better.”
Manager Carlos Mendoza noted that McLean’s sweeper and curveball weren’t his best, but he still managed to compete.
“We saw a lot that first outing, but even today against a lineup like that, [without] the secondary pitches, for him to go seven was pretty impressive,” Mendoza said.
If the night was extra special for the right-hander, it was because he grew up in Willow Springs, N.C., rooting for the Braves and attended several games in this ballpark in his youth.
“It does have a little bit of a different feeling, whenever you have been to some of these games, playing right up the road, and guys you have watched on TV and you get to play against them, so it’s really cool,” McLean said.
Hayden Senger’s RBI single in the second gave the Mets a 1-0 lead.
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It was the second straight game with an RBI for Senger, whose sacrifice fly Thursday drove in the first run of his MLB career.
Baty and Tyrone Taylor singled to begin the rally.
Soto drew a two-out walk with the bases loaded to extend the lead after Lindor walked.
Cedric Mullins smoked a two-run triple in the third that widened the lead to 4-0.
Baty’s second hit of the night, a double, put runners on second and third before Mullins delivered with two outs.
Pete Alonso’s leadoff single started the rally.
Jurickson Profar delivered an RBI single in the third for the first run allowed by McLean in his major league career.
Nacho Alvarez Jr. doubled leading off.
McLean escaped the inning with a strikeout/throw-out double play — Matt Olson whiffed and Senger nailed Profar attempting to steal second base.
The Mets knocked out lefty Joey Wentz in the fourth.
Starling Marte extended the lead to 5-1 with a sacrifice fly following consecutive singles by Lindor and Soto.
The Mets got another run on Mark Vientos’ RBI double.
Taylor slashed an RBI double that placed the Braves in a 7-1 hole.
Ronald Acuña Jr. launched a full-count sweeper for a homer leading off the fourth that gave the Braves their second run.
McLean recovered to retire the next three batters in the inning.
Soto’s two-run homer in the seventh brought the Mets’ lead to 9-2.
The blast was Soto’s 32nd this season.
It came after Lindor doubled to reach base for the fourth time in the game.
Senger piled on with a two-run single in the eighth.
Soto’s RBI later in the inning gave the Mets a 12-2 lead.
The Braves closed the gap in the final two innings against Reed Garrett and Ryan Helsley, who combined to surrender five runs.
“We know we’re a pretty good offensive team, and when we get guys clicking like that, we’re going to score a lot of runs,” Mendoza said. “But we were able to make some adjustments.”