Zac Thornton works through rain delay for win

Thornton is a bit of a throwback as a cutter-heavy lefty who pitches to contact and lets his defense make plays behind him. It got a little dicey early in this start though when the Braves were hitting laser beams all over the park and putting consistent traffic on the bases. Yet, Thornton forced a timely double play to subdue a threat in the third inning and benefited from a baserunning blunder by Ronald Acuña Jr. in the fifth to limit the damage. Without forcing many whiffs or generating many strikeouts, his start-by-start consistency will be determined by batted ball luck and how much he can grit his teeth to get through those jams. On the season, he has a 2.78 ERA, 29 strikeouts, and 13 walks through 45 1/3 innings. Next up, he’s scheduled to face the Padres at home.

Thornton didn’t give up much hard contact today, but he did allow a two-run homer to Javier Sanoja in the second. The other runs came following an error from Francisco Lindor to start the first and a HBP to open the fourth. Thornton dropped to 2-2 with a 2.88 ERA through six starts. He’ll pitch in Pittsburgh next weekend.

Thornton gave up six hits, walked one and struck out five. He improved to 2-1 in five starts. Thornton allowed four runs in his first MLB start, but has since put up four consecutive quality starts. That’ll do. Thornton’s 3.83 xFIP shows he’s not as good as his 2.43 ERA, but he’s displayed enough skills to be interesting to fantasy managers. Thornton’s lined up to face the Marlins at home on Saturday.

As we’ve come to expect from Thornton in his last three outings, he threw plenty of strikes with a deep pitch mix and didn’t miss many bats, but also didn’t allow a lot of hard contact. The rookie threw 65 percent of his pitches for strikes but had just a seven percent swinging strike rate, the lowest of any of his games this season. He actually got into plenty of two-strike counts but was simply unable to put Brewers’ hitters away. Thornton has good command and a deep arsenal, which makes some of what he’s doing feel realistic, but his lack of strikeout upside makes him more of a deeper league fantasy play.

This should have been Thornton’s first big-league victory, but Francisco Lindor botched a game-ending double play in the ninth and Devin Williams couldn’t pick him up afterwards. Thornton allowed just two hits, walked two and struck out five, using only 82 pitches to get his 21 outs. He definitely made a good case for sticking around as the Mets’ fifth starter, and interim manager Andy Green confirmed after the game that he’d keep the spot following the break. He’s an option in NL-only and deep mixed leagues.

Thornton will start for the Mets in Sunday’s first half finale against the Red Sox. The 24-year-old southpaw has made two starts for the big league club this season, registering a 4.35 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and a 10/3 K/BB ratio over 10 1/3 innings. He could be worth a look as a streaming option on Sunday and is likely to get a real shot to stick in the team’s rotation at some point in the second half.

Thorton figures to draw the starting assignment instead of Kodai Senga and should factor into New York’s rotation plans down the home stretch, especially if they decide to move some pitching talent at the trade deadline in a couple weeks.

Thornton earns a ticket back to the minors with Christian Scott coming off the injured list. The 24-year-old rookie struck out seven and allowed one run over six innings during a no-decision against the Phillies on Friday night. He figures to get an extended opportunity in New York’s rotation in the second half, especially if they remain out of playoff contention, but he’s going to have to wait for now.

Things did not start out well for Thornton here. Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber, and Bryce Harper greeted him rudely with three consecutive hits to score a run. Then, first baseman Jared Young bailed him out with an excellent diving play to save multiple runs. From there, it was smooth sailing. He allowed just three more baserunners after the Phillies’ initial flurry and forced 13 swings-and-misses. His cutter was the star of the show as his primary pitch to both righties and lefties and he commanded it quite well. This successful audition likely puts him in position to remain in the Mets’ rotation. If so, he’s in for a tough test against the Braves in Atlanta.

Thornton will make his second big-league start tonight against the Phillies. He gave up four runs over 4 1/3 innings in his debut against the Nationals last month, and he had a 4.25 ERA and a 56/23 K/BB in 55 innings as a starter in Triple-A.