Friday, September 28, 2026 • 2:35 PM
Globe Life Field • Arlington, TX
LHP Zac Thornton (5-5, 3.40) vs. RHP Kumar Rocker (5-11, 4.47)
SNY

The Mets look to complete the sweep of the Rangers this afternoon! The Mets took the lead first Wednesday night thanks to a Juan Soto home run. The Rangers eventually tied it before Marcus Semien put the Mets ahead again with a solo shot of his own. Then Brett Baty dropped the hammer with a grand slam.

The Rangers are in a race for the AL West title. Both they and the Astros lost yesterday, and both teams are now two games below. 500, leaving the door still ever so open for the Seattle Mariners, who are four games back. Meanwhile, the Mets are still 1.5 games behind the Nationals, trying to get out of the cellar by the end of the season.

Zac Thornton vs. Brewers

Mets Lineup

  1. Francisco Lindor – SS
  2. Juan Soto – DH
  3. Bo Bichette – 3B
  4. Carson Benge – RF
  5. Brett Baty – 1B
  6. Marcus Semien – 2B
  7. A.J. Ewing – CF
  8. Luis Torrens – C
  9. Nick Morabito – LF

Starting Pitcher: Zac Thornton

Zac Thornton ends a terrific rookie year today. Over 14 games this season, Thornton pitched 79 1/3 innings with a 3.40 ERA, 4.50 FIP, 1.147 WHIP and a 120 ERA+. In his last two starts, he has allowed only four runs and 10 hits over 13 innings. The main blemish on his game has been home runs. He’s allowed home runs in eight of his last ten starts and has allowed a total of six home runs in September alone. This will be his first time facing the Rangers, and no one on the Rangers has faced Thornton before in a Major League game.

Opposing Lineup

  1. Justin Foscue – 2B
  2. Corey Seager – SS
  3. Josh Jung – 3B
  4. Jake Burger – 1B
  5. Brandon Nimmo – RF
  6. Wyatt Langford – LF
  7. Ezequiel Duran – CF
  8. Elias Díaz – C
  9. Danny Jansen – DH

The Mets drafted Kumar Rocker in 2021 and did not reach a deal due to his medicals. He was drafted by the Rangers the following year, made his debut in 2024, and is finishing a full major league season for the first time this year. Over 29 games, 26 starts, he has pitched 143 innings with a 4.47 ERA, 4.36 FIP, 1.420 WHIP and an 86 ERA+. He’s coming off back-to-back solid, if not short, starts where he has allowed two runs and five hits over 8 1/3 innings. The only hitter on the Mets who has faced Rocker before is Christopher Morel (1-for-2).

Game Notes

  • Brett Baty hit the 10th pinch-hit grand slam in franchise history on Wednesday. The previous one was hit by Tyrone Taylor against the Braves in April of 2024.
  • The Mets have hired Derek Falvey as a senior advisor of baseball operations. Additionally, Kris Gross has been promoted to assistant general manager, scouting.
  • Anthony Rieber of Newsday reports that the Mets saw attendance drop 14.8% this season. They had just one sellout, which came on Opening Day.

Three Things To Watch For

  1. Juan Soto. It’s nice having Soto on the Mets. Soto went 1-for-2 Wednesday, hitting his 27th home run of the season and also picking up three walks. It was his second home run in five games and puts him in a position to possibly reach 30 home runs before the end of the season. Getting on base four times Wednesday night raised his OBP to .394, just barely behind last year’s league-leading .396.
  2. Keep them guessing. Wyatt Langford and Corey Seager each struck out three times on Tuesday night. They each struck out twice Wednesday night. Together, they have gone 0-for-15 with ten strikeouts and a sacrifice fly.
  3. Milestones. Nothing has really changed in the last week. Carson Benge is still only one home run away from a 20-20 season. Francisco Lindor is still sitting at 299 career home runs

Let’s go Mets!