Nolan McLean’s “good citizen” move might not actually be what it seemed.
The star Mets hurler, during his start in Tuesday’s loss, patted his chest as if to say “my bad” after throwing a pitch inside in the sixth inning to Twins outfielder Byron Buxton. On the very next pitch, Buxton smacked a two-run homer.
SNY Mets analyst Ron Darling then posited that McLean was offering a small apology to Buxton — his Team USA teammate in the World Baseball Classic — that would essentially mean the next pitch would not be inside.
“McLean said, looked at Buxton, they had met eyes, said, ‘My bad, my bad. I shouldn’t do that.’ You know what happens to a hitter when he hears that? One-hundred percent, the next pitch is not going to be inside. It’s going to be away.
Nolan McLean pats his chest to express remorse to Buxton. @FoulTerritoryTV/X “He’s a smart hitter and took advantage of it. I know what McLean’s doing. That’s being a good citizen. You don’t need to do that out there.”
Nevertheless, SNY field reporter Steve Gelbs spoke with McLean and said on Wednesday’s broadcast that the pitcher was indeed apologizing, but not to Buxton. McLean was actually saying sorry to his batterymate, catcher Francisco Alvarez.
McLean told Gelbs that Alvarez had called for a backdoor sinker and missed the target and he missed his spot somewhere between 5 and 7 feet.
Gelbs also said that because McLean threw seven two-seamers across the first two at-bats to Buxton, he wanted to mix in a cutter to change things up.
Nolan McLean slams his rosin bag to the ground as Byron Buxton rounds the bases on his two-run home run during the sixth inning of the Mets’ loss to the Twins on April 21, 2026 at Citi Field. Robert Sabo for NY Post Nevertheless, Buxton mashed the cutter to cut the Mets’ lead to 3-2.
Minnesota rallied in the ninth of struggling Mets closer Devin Williams to hand the Amazin’s their not-so-amazin’ 12th straight loss.
Despite that mistake to Bruxton, McLean — one of the few bright spots in Queens these days — finished the outing with 10 strikeouts and three runs allowed over 6 2/3 innings.
