Eighteen pitchers in Mets history have concluded their first 10 major league starts with a sub-3.00 ERA.
There have been rocket ships such as Tom Seaver (2.64), Nolan Ryan (2.80) and Matt Harvey (2.73).
There is at least the making of a promising arm in Nolan McLean (2.16).
There have been footnotes such as Masato Yoshii (2.25) and Charlie Puleo (2.94).
And now there is a curiosity who might be turning into something more because through his first 10 major league starts, Zac Thornton’s ERA is 2.88.
With the 2026 season unofficially over, the 2027 rotation is looking a bit more promising every time the lefty is given the ball.
Tuesday that meant Thornton holding down the Brewers — who entered as the fourth-highest-scoring offense in the sport — for six innings in which he allowed just one run during a 3-2 victory at Citi Field.
“I thought I did a fine job just kind of changing speeds on them, basically one through nine, kind of used all the pitches,” said the left-hander, who mixed in seven distinct pitches, six of which induced a swing-and-miss.
He did not issue a walk and threw 62 of his 89 pitches for strikes.
A pitcher known for guile had a bit more gas, maxing out at 95.4 mph and later acknowledging with a smile, “I’m definitely seeing those 95s up there.”
He would love to maintain that velocity, but it’s possible he was a bit fresher pitching on six days’ rest.
Whether he has the extra tick or not, he continues to impress for a club that might be beginning to pencil him in to the 2027 rotation.
“I think he is who we thought he was: a fearless competitor who doesn’t care who gets in the batter’s box,” said interim manager Andy Green, “who might give up a home run on the first pitch of the game, and the rest of the game, he’s going to do what he does.”
Thornton only allowed one fourth-inning run — which probably deserves an asterisk, William Contreras awarded a double when a soft ground ball took a strange turn away from Bo Bichette — and otherwise, the Brewers did not have an answer for Thornton’s kitchen sink.
Virtually no one has since Thornton debuted with a four-run, 4 ¹/₃ inning clunker in Washington, which is the last time he has allowed four earned runs in a game.
Luis Robert Jr. drilled his sixth home run in his past 14 games, red-hot during a span in which his OPS has risen from .606 to .737.
Carson Benge tallied three more hits and an intentional walk, slashing .303/.363/.466 since May 1.
How Green will handle the playing time of his catchers the rest of the season will bear watching.
For a second straight game, Francisco Alvarez sat in favor of Luis Torrens, this time against Brewers lefty Kyle Harrison.
Sometimes against opposing righties Green has played both, but against the southpaw it was Eric Wagaman who served as designated hitter rather than Alvarez.
Alvarez has been the typically unquestioned starter when healthy since 2023, while Torrens has been among the game’s best backups since arriving in the 2024 trade.
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Before going 1-for-4, Torrens — who is the superior defender — entered hitting .393 with six home runs and 13 RBIs over his past 10 games. Alvarez is in a 2-for-33 slide.
“I think we’re still going to see Alvy out there very consistently,” Green said. “I think both of those guys are continuing to see the field quite a bit as we wrap up this season.
“Alvy obviously has gone through a stretch where he hasn’t swung the bat the way he has traditionally, but he’s really received well.”
Green defended Alvarez’s “under the hood” defense, in which Statcast has believed him to be a roughly average framer, slightly above average at throwing out runners and poor at blocking.
The usually lighter-hitting Torrens excels at each defensive category.
“I still believe immensely in Alvy’s upside,” Green said of the 24-year-old, who has had nice seasons but not yet the breakthrough that reminds of his former No. 1-prospect-in-baseball pedigree. “He’s still going to get a lot of at-bats.”
Green said he had no real update on Juan Soto, who has been sidelined for over a month (since July 24) with a left calf strain, or Devin Williams, out since Aug. 7 with a right shoulder strain.
Green said the club still believes both will return this season.
Mark Vientos is “not particularly close” to being an option for the Mets, Green said.
Vientos has gone 0-for-8 with a walk in three games with Double-A Binghamton and Triple-A Syracuse so far in his first action since fracturing his hand on July 9.
“We’ll let kind of his play, how he feels and kind of the progression in general be determined by what happens on the field a little bit,” Green said. “When you hurt your hand, you need to get some at-bats and get going.”
