The New York Mets won big in game two of a three game set against the New York Yankees, 12-2, on Saturday. The offense, led by Francisco Lindor, Carson Benge, Juan Soto, and Luis Torrens, exploded for 12 runs, 14 hits, and six home runs. Lindor had three hits, two home runs, and five runs batted in. That made the life of Zac Thornton very easy in a bounce-back effort on Saturday. Thornton went seven innings, allowing only two runs on five hits, while striking out four.
Most notably, Thornton was able to get Anthony Volpe to ground into an inning ending double play in the seventh after a conversation with Mets interim manager Andy Green. When asked about his conversation on the mound, Green told reporters that Thornton, “said he was going to get a double play ball.” And he did exactly that.
Despite the season being a lost cause, Green has done a fantastic job of leading the Mets and allowing for the young players to develop in situations that might not be available for a competing team.
Saturday was a great display of perseverance for Thornton. In his previous start against the San Francisco Giants, Thornton gave up six earned runs on four home runs. Against the Yankees, he was able to do exactly what he needs to do to be successful: throw strikes (75.3% strike rate) and limit damage (both runs coming at different times, one off of a solo home run).
Just because Thornton doesn’t have stuff like Nolan McLean doesn’t mean he can’t be a successful major league pitcher. While he is inevitably going to have games where he gets hit very hard, he has shown that he can string together multiple quality starts and get deep into games.
Zac Thornton. Photo credits: Roberto Carlo
As Mets fans know all too well, pitchers are going to get hurt. It’s a part of the game, and the MLB season is a marathon. Pieces, like Thornton, who can eat innings and rack up quality starts are always going to have value, no matter what team they play on.
One of the differences between his last start against the Giants and Saturday night was his pitch breakdown. Thornton has shown this year that he is going to throw his cutter and fastball much more than any other pitch. This is especially true versus right-handed hitters. There needs to be the development of a third pitch to throw more versus righties, but that is for the offseason.
Against the Yankees, Thornton threw his sweeper at a much lower rate than he did against the Giants. Part of this has to do with the extreme platoon lineup that the Yankees sent out. Only three of the starting nine players were lefties, meaning that he was more likely to stick to his fastball and cutter. The other part of this has to do with the trend that we are seeing with his arsenal.
As the season has gone on, Thornton has thrown cutters and fastballs at a much higher rate than his other pitches. What’s interesting is that those two pitches have not been super effective, despite throwing them a ton. Opposing hitters are hitting .268 off of the cutters and fastballs this year, and .294 off of the cutter alone. Compare this to the .167 batting average off of his sweeper, and it poses a legitimate question as to why he doesn’t trust it more.
Starts like these are incredibly encouraging for the Mets long-term outlook. With so many question marks heading into 2027, it would be fantastic if they could pencil Thornton into a role at the bottom of the rotation. Someone who can eat innings, rack up quality starts, and survive the dog days of the season.
