NEW YORK -- Aaron Judge probably wasn’t expecting much extra zip from Zac Thornton, one of Major League Baseball’s softer-throwing pitchers, in the first inning Saturday at Yankee Stadium. But zip is precisely what Thornton delivered. On an 0-2 count, Thornton challenged Judge with a 95.5 mph fastball on the inside corner, matching his hardest pitch of the season. Judge simply watched it zoom by for strike three.
An inning later, Thornton struck out Spencer Jones on a nearly identical fastball, which dotted the outside corner against the left-handed hitter. All told, Thornton threw six pitches of at least 95 mph in a 12-2 thumping of the Yankees, or as many as he had in his first 12 starts combined. On the day, Thornton averaged 93.6 mph on his four-seamer, which was also a career high.
The result was one of the rookie’s finest performances to date: seven innings, two runs and a victory on only 81 pitches.
Zippy fastballs aren’t the norm for Thornton, who relies more on control, deception and the unpredictability of a seven-pitch mix, often coaxing opponents to chase out of the strike zone. But Thornton’s fastball has still been one of his best pitches, in part because of his ability to spot it on the edges (as he did to Jones), and in part due to his willingness to throw it in unpredictable counts (as he did to Judge). Add in a little extra heat, and the pitch becomes an even sharper weapon.
It helped that Thornton pitched with a lead for the entire afternoon thanks to Francisco Lindor’s leadoff homer -- one of three the Mets hit off Gerrit Cole and one of six on the day. Lindor later added a grand slam, and Luis Torrens, Carson Benge, Juan Soto and Jared Young also went deep.
Thornton gave up one homer of his own, to Cody Bellinger, who also added an RBI single in the fourth. But Mets interim manager Andy Green allowed Thornton to work through his own messes, including a two-on, one-out jam in the seventh. Facing Anthony Volpe, Thornton threw a 1-0 changeup in a fastball count, prompting Volpe to roll over it for an inning-ending 5-4-3 double play.