Last Friday, Zach Thornton struck out nine RailRiders in front of 3,707 at PNC Field in Moosic, Pennsylvania, in his second start for Triple-A Syracuse. The assignment on Wednesday was to face MLB’s highest-scoring team before 18,642 at Nationals Park.
Welcome to the big leagues, leading off is James Wood.
“I’m nervous before every game I pitch,” the 24-year-old said after taking the loss in his MLB debut. “This was kinda nothing new.”
Thornton got Wood to ground out to second, but then Curtis Mead singled, Andrés Chaparro worked him for a six-pitch walk and CJ Abrams turned around an 85 mph cutter for a three-run homer. The Mets (21-28) lost 8-4.
He gave up a run in the second on a Keibert Ruiz RBI single, but settled down to retire eight in a row and left with one out in the fifth after getting Wood to sky to left. He gave up four runs on four hits, struck out three, walked two and threw 53 of 80 pitches for strikes. He threw 40 cutters at an average of 86 mph and 22 four-seam fastballs at an average of 91.6 mph.
“I thought he competed,” Carlos Mendoza said. “They had some good takes on some pitches … but they ran his pitch count up. The one thing that I liked even after he got punched there in that first inning, he didn’t back down.”
Thornton was a fifth-round pick out of Grand Canyon University in Phoenix in 2023. He started this season at Double-A Binghamton, where he went 0-2 over five starts with a 3.60 ERA and 1.32 WHIP. In 25 innings, he struck out 27 and walked nine. In 12 innings at Syracuse, he gave up three runs, struck out 13 and walked three.
“I just know that I need to get in zone,” Thornton said. “I feel as though I belong here and my stuff’s going to play so if I just get in zone I’ll be alright.” When the Mets announced that Thornton would get the call, Mendoza said they would see how this outing went before deciding if he would get another. Jonah Tong and Jack Wenninger were also considered. The Mets need to fill the hole left by the Clay Holmes injury.
Thornton’s parents and sister were on hand. His dad, Paul, is rehabbing after something went wrong during spinal surgery last month that left him temporarily paralyzed from the waist down. He left a hospital in Chicago to see his son pitch and planned to return to his Kansas home afterward.
“Super special just seeing him sitting there in his little wheelchair,” Thornton said. “It means everything to me. I mean he’s got his own battle that he has to put aside now. So we’re gonna get with him for the next 30 days and hopefully he can bounce back from his rehab.”
