CHICAGO — Nolan McLean is approaching 150 innings for this season following his robust efficiency Sunday, but his ambitions are much grander.

“I am still behind what I threw last year, so I have got some room to continue to grow and build those innings up,” the Mets rookie said after his group’s 2-1 loss to the White Sox at Rate Field. “Ideally, it’s 200. Every single time you start the season, your goal is to get to 200 innings.”

McLean, at 148 ²/₃ innings, has six begins remaining at most, and it’s unlikely Mets officers will push him extensively late in the season.

McLean pitched 161 ²/₃ innings last season, break up between the minor leagues and majors.

On this day he fired six scoreless innings in which he allowed only one hit and walked 4 batters — he plunked another — with six strikeouts.

New York Mets pitcher Nolan McLean delivers the ball against the Chicago White Sox during the first inning at Rate Field on Sunday, Aug. 23, 2026, in Chicago. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

It was his third straight begin pitching at least six innings while permitting one or no runs.

“Those are good hitters that had really been swinging it well against us all series, having tough at-bats,” interim supervisor Andy Green said. “I thought he was on the attack all day. Mixed pitches. He was really unpredictable. It was hard to know what he was going to do, so I felt good about what he did today.”

He confronted his stiffest problem in the third, when he walked consecutive batters to load the bases after permitting a two-out single to Sam Antonacci.

The right-hander rebounded to strike out Andrew Benintendi on three pitches.

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“I felt like I made all the pitches I wanted to and ended up walking them,” McLean said of the third-inning jam.

McLean, who has a 3.21 ERA in 26 begins this season, is half of the NL Rookie of the Year dialogue, alongside with teammate Carson Benge.

How much is McLean paying consideration to the race?

“Not a ton,” he said. “My job is to go out there and try to put my team in the best position to win. If you control that, good things tend to happen. I think any competitor would like to win the award, but I don’t pay too much attention.”