The New York Mets have won two straight against Texas as they seem to be taking to the role of spoilers.
The New York Mets could get a rare series sweep against the Texas Rangers on Thursday afternoon, and that’s just one of many reasons to watch this game.
The Mets haven’t done much of this sort thing this season, and a sweep would be tinged with a bit of bitterness. It’s impossible not to play the “what if” card based on the possibilities if the Mets had played this way back in April, and they’ve shown that they can at least play .500 baseball and maybe even find a way to contend if they can make a few moves to eliminate some of their roster deadwood.
A better reason to watch is the performance of rookie starter Zac Thornton in his final start of the season. Thornton has been a revelation in his 14 starts so far, as he’s pitched to an ERA of 3.40 in almost 80 innings with a WHIP of 1.15. That’s middle of the rotation stuff at least, and the left-hander continues to improve with each block of starts.
His latest adjustment has been interesting, to say the least. Thornton attacks the zone relentlessly, and hitters now know it. There’s plenty of tape on him, so some of the better ones have started to look for that early pitch where he leaves one in the middle of the zone.
Thornton’s response to this has been to add velocity. He did it against the New York Yankees back on Sept.12, and the result was a win in which he went seven innings and gave up just two runs on five hits and a walk to go with four strikeouts.
The lefty hit 95 mph in that game, which is low in today’s game, but combine it with Thornton’s command and you’ve got a successful adjustment.
The Rangers will send Kumar Rocker to the mound, and he’s coming off a pair of successful starts in which he gave up just a run in each against the Toronto Blue Jays and the Arizona Diamondback.
Texas needs this game badly, not just to avoid the sweep, but to keep pace with the Houston Astros with the two teams tied at 78-80 going into this one and the final series of the season. It won’t take much to separate, but the Rangers have lost three straight, and this is their final game of the season before they head off to Minnesota, with the Astros bound for Sacramento for four games against the A’s in a race no one seems to want to win.
