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    Zac Thornton strong for seven in win over Yankees

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    NYM Starting Pitcher
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    Zac Thornton pitched seven innings of two-run ball in beating the Yankees on Saturday.

    It’s mid-September, but Thornton showed his best velocity of the season today, averaging 93.6 mph with his fastball. That’s 1.5 mph better than usual. The win makes him 4-5 with a 3.44 ERA through 13 starts. He’s due to pitch at home against the Phillies next week.
Can Rays spark a comeback after winning Game 4?
Andrew Perloff and Paul Pabst react to the Tampa Bay Rays winning Game 4 of the World Series in a dramatic walk-off in the 12th inning.

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  • NYM Starting Pitcher
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    Thornton was solid in this one, scattering five hits over six innings of work while allowing only one walk. He gave up an RBI double to Bryson Stott in the second inning and allowed a solo homer to Edmundo Sosa in the sixth inning before being pulled at the start of the seventh. Thornton has strung together back-to-back quality starts and has allowed just four earned runs over his last 13 innings of work while striking out eight batters. He’ll look to finish out a strong rookie season with his final start of the year, which is set for Thursday on the road against the Rangers.
  • NYM Starting Pitcher
    Thornton struck out six and walked one, but he gave up homers on each of his top four pitches. He’d allowed a total of seven homers in 61 1/3 innings this season coming into the day. Including his time in the minors, Thronton is at 129 innings for the year. That doesn’t seem like a lot, but he came in at 68 and 73 in his first two pro seasons. He’s slated to face the Yankees next weekend, but the Mets might want to go easy on him from here on in.
  • NYM Starting Pitcher
    Thornton allowed six hits without issuing a walk, and he struck out five. It was a solid outing for the 24-year-old, who has been one of the brighter spots in a pretty dim season for the Metropolitans. He’ll take a 2.93 ERA into a scheduled start Saturday against the Giants.
  • NYM Starting Pitcher
    Thornton gave up seven hits, walked none and struck out four. The 24-year-old left-hander had a 3.94 ERA in four starts in August entering play Tuesday. Thornton isn’t a big strikeout pitcher, but his recipe for success against the Brewers was allowing no walks and keeping the ball in the ballpark. He has a 2.88 ERA. Thornton is lined up to face the Astros at home on Sunday.
  • NYM Starting Pitcher
    Two of the runs came in the fifth, an inning that featured two incidents of gloves flying off the hands of Mets fielders. The first of those was on Jake Cronenworth’s fly to left to start the inning. A.J. Ewing caught the ball on a dive, only for his glove to be dislodged when he hit the ground. That resulted in a single. Fernando Tatis Jr. followed with a homer. Luis Rengifo then grounded down the third base line. Bo Bichette got to the ball but made a bad throw, and Christopher Morel had his glove come off while trying and failing to make a swipe tag at first. No runs followed after that, but it was still funny. Thornton dropped to 3-4 with a 3.04 ERA. He’ll face the Brewers next Tuesday.
  • NYM Starting Pitcher
    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.
  • NYM Starting Pitcher
    The left-handed rookie Thornton continues to cruise. He was forced to sit for an hour during a rain delay in this one and did not miss a beat. Most of the hard contact he allowed was on the ground and his cutter jammed more than a few of the Pirates’ right-handed hitters. He is not flashy and won’t miss many bats, but Thornton now has a 2.52 ERA across 39 1/3 innings this season. Also, he likely left this game with just 63 pitches because of the hour he sat during the delay. Next up, he’s scheduled to face the Braves in Atlanta.
  • NYM Starting Pitcher
    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.
  • NYM Starting Pitcher
    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.
  • NYM Starting Pitcher
    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.

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    Blue Jays C prospect Aaron Parker went 2-for-3 with two walks and a stolen base in Arizona Fall League action on Tuesday.

    Parker is now up to five steals in the AFL season while hitting .423 with a 1.097 OPS in 26 at-bats. The 5'7" Parker hit .253/.347/.467 in 87 games at Double-A this season with 19 home runs and 12 steals. He is also working in the outfield during the AFL season to try and increase his chances of helping the big league club. He should begin 2027 at Triple-A and has a chance to push for MLB at-bats if he continues to flash that kind of power and speed.
  • WSH Starting Pitcher #49
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    Nationals RHP prospect Jarlin Susana allowed one run on one hit in five innings in Arizona Fall League action on Tuesday.

    The big right-hander struck out five and walked two while throwing 38 of his 63 pitches for strikes. After undergoing lat surgery in 2025, Susana didn’t pitch in the minor leagues this season until August, so this was his longest outing since early in 2025. While he showed off his trademark triple-digit four-seamer, he also heavily mixed in a sinker that runs in on the hands of right-handers and an upper-80s power curve. The Nationals also have him working on a tighter cutter that he’s been throwing in the upper 90s in Arizona. Given his long layoff, health is the biggest positive for Susana, but if the 22-year-old is able to find a pitch mix that will give him good enough command to pair with his elite fastballs, he could be an impact arm for the Nationals in 2027.
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    Diamondbacks C Aramis Garcia elects free agency

    Garcia played just 38 games at Triple-A for the Diamondbacks this season, hitting .233/.340/.451 with six home runs and 21 RBI. He’ll look to latch on somewhere as spring training catching depth.
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    Rays manager Kevin Cash said after Tuesday’s game that Junior Caminero was fine after exiting for a pinch-runner in the 12th.

    He didn’t seem fine, and Caminero himself indicated that there was a foot issue, though he was adamant that he’d play Wednesday. Caminero came up lame while trying to beat out a grounder on Joey Ortiz’s error in the 12th and stayed in to run to third on a single before being replaced by Cedric Mullins.
  • TB Right Fielder #21
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    Jonny DeLuca hit a game-tying single in the 12th inning to help the Rays to a win over the Brewers in Game 4 of the World Series on Tuesday.

    DeLuca took advantage of a drawn-in infield with runners on first-and-third and singled up the middle to tie the game at 3-3. It was his only hit of the game and he has scuffled mightily over this postseason, but he keeps the Rays alive with a chance to make the series a little tighter with a Game 5 win Wednesday.
    - Christopher Crawford
  • MIL Shortstop #87
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    Cooper Pratt went 4-for-5 with a go-ahead homer in the 12th inning in a Game 4 loss to the Rays on Tuesday.

    Pratt also singled twice and doubled, but the hit he will remember forever was his go-ahead homer off Ian Seymour that gives the Brew Crew a 3-2 lead in the 12th. Unfortunately for Pratt and the Brew Crew, it wasn’t enough with Tampa Bay scoring twice in the bottom of the frame. The 22-year-old has been outstanding in the postseason minus some mental gaffes, but the Brewers will need to win one more game to clinch that first championship.
    - Christopher Crawford
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    Ben Williamson hit a walk-off single in the 12th inning to give the Rays a 4-3 win over the Brewers in Game 4 of the World Series on Tuesday.

    Yep, just like we all predicted. With the bases loaded, Williamson took a defensive hack that scooted through the turf of Tampa Bay to give the Rays a win and stave off elimination for at least one more game. The 25-year-old has his first-ever postseason RBI, and likely won’t be in the lineup in Game 5 come Wednesday. He’ll be able to say he had a game-winning hit in the World Series, however, which has to feel pretty dang good.
    - Christopher Crawford
  • TB Starting Pitcher #22
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    Griffin Jax allowed two runs over four innings Tuesday in a Game 4 start against the Brewers on Tuesday.

    Jax gave up a ton of loud contact with nine balls in play registering as hard hits. He also generated 11 swings and misses and six strikeouts, so it was more of a case of poor command than lack of stuff. He also was almost assuredly left in too long, and gave up a homer to David Hamilton in the fifth before exiting. Jax did a solid job as a starter for Tampa Bay in 2026, and he’ll likely be back in the middle of the Rays’ rotation in 2027, but he likely will be an option in Game 6 or 7 if Tampa Bay can force one.
    - Christopher Crawford
  • MIL Starting Pitcher #21
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    Dustin May gave up two runs in three innings while not factoring in the decision against the Rays on Tuesday in Game 4 of the World Series.

    May pounded the strike zone, and threw 30-of-39 pitches for strikes without issuing a walk. He found too much of the plate a time or two too many, however, and gave up an RBI double to Chandler Simpson and was charged for another run in the fourth after exiting with zero outs. May has a $20 million option that will assuredly be declined, so he’ll be a free agent who should have a decent market this winter. He could also pitch at some point out of the bullpen over the next few games, if necessary.
    - Christopher Crawford
  • MIL Starting Pitcher #21
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    Dustin May will start Game 4 of the World Series, the Brewers confirmed.

    It sounds like Brandon Woodruff would have opened tonight if he hadn’t finished last night’s game. As is, May will make his second start of the postseason after pitching in relief his last three times out. He’s surrendered five runs in eight innings thus far in October. The Brewers figure to be very aggressive tonight with all of their key relievers having enjoyed back-to-back days off.