McLean Gets WBC Final Start; Miller, Whitlock Set for Late
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- Nolan McLean will start Tuesday's WBC final for Team USA against Venezuela, recommended to manager Mark DeRosa by hitting coach Matt Holliday from their Oklahoma State days and coming in with an 8-start MLB résumé (5-1, 2.06 ERA, 57 strikeouts in 48 innings).
- Team USA operates under a 95-pitch starter limit, and McLean himself estimated he can only go 65-70 pitches after throwing 55 against Italy last Tuesday — meaning a piggyback reliever will be needed in the middle innings.
- Matthew Boyd, an All-Star lefty, is the leading piggyback candidate behind McLean, giving DeRosa a power-righty-to-southpaw contrast for the middle frames.
- Mason Miller is available to close despite the Padres' reported workload concerns, with DeRosa saying, "I'd like to avoid him, but the score will dictate it. Yes, he's available."
- David Bednar is "probably off the board," per DeRosa, thinning the late-inning bridge and likely forcing Whitlock to handle the eighth before Miller takes the ninth.
- USA is making its third finals appearance in six WBC tries, having won in 2017 and lost a one-run game to Japan in the 2023 final; this is the seventh and final game of the tournament for the Americans.
Why it matters: A rookie with 8 MLB starts is taking the ball in a championship game, but the real squeeze is behind him: McLean's 65-70 pitch ceiling, Bednar's likely unavailability, and a piggyback-to-Miller bridge mean DeRosa has almost no margin for error against Venezuela in the final game of the tournament.
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