Mets bullpen delivers rare clunker after solid Zac Thornton outing in loss to Astros
For most of their games since the All-Star break, the Mets bullpen had become a relative strength, a group that produced the third-lowest ERA in the majors at 2.64 after the season resumed.For most of this month, too, Jared Young had done enough with his bat to play his way into conversations about a role for next season, an unexpected development considering his career trajectory to this point.
Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Mike Puma about the inside buzz on the Mets.But across two innings Sunday, an afternoon when rookie Zac Thornton once again did more than enough during his start, both combined to sink the Mets in their 6-3 loss to the Astros to cap a six-game homestand at Citi Field.
Jonathan Pintaro and Jefry Yan allowed an earned run each after taking over for Thornton, while Young’s brutal throwing error in the seventh brought home another run.And when paired with a relatively quiet afternoon offensively, that was enough to send the Mets (61-76) to a fourth loss in five games and a third consecutive series defeat.Thornton, though, gave the Mets a chance.
He needed 97 pitches to navigate five innings — a number inflated by a 12-pitch at-bat and a pair of eight-pitch at-bats — but still flashed more of the potential that has turned the left-hander into an intriguing piece of the Mets’ future.After a leadoff homer from Jeremy Peña, when one of his staple cutters ended up on the other side of the center field fence, Thornton only allowed one extra-base hit the rest of his outing.He finished with six hits and a pair of earned runs allowed while striking out five batters and walking none.
His ERA across his first 11 MLB starts dipped to 2.93.He even added an extra fist pump after striking out Jose Altuve to end the fifth.Pintaro, who’d allowed just two earned runs in his last 9 ²/₃ innings, allowed Yainer Diaz to double with two outs in the sixth inning before LaMonte Wade Jr.
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