Thornton Boosts Velocity, Changes Pitch Mix To Beat Yankees

Zac Thornton isn’t a conventional pitcher at all in the context of today’s metrics, but the New York Mets starter gets results. In many ways, he’s the definition of an old-school hurler as he relies on attacking the zone, moving the ball around and throwing unconventional pithces in different counts. 

But Thornton also relied on some extra velocity in the Mets' 12-2 thumping of the New York Yankees yesterday. He averaged 93.6 mph with his four-seam fastball, and he struck out Aaron Judge on a pitch that reached 95.5 mph. 

“He’s just been putting in the work,” said Juan Soto in a piece written by Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. “It’s really cool to see. And it means a lot for the team.”

More important, Thornton was efficient. He threw seven innings and gave up just two runs, but interim manager Andy Green also commented on the extra zip on his pitches. 

“It gives him so much more margin when he can live at those numbers,” said Green. “It speeds guys up even more, makes earlier decisions on cutters, opens hips up faster, gives him the outer half access when he needs it or wants it. So in every regard, velo just makes it easier -- especially if it comes with the same command, which for him it has. And it did today.”

Yankees rookie Spencer Jones saw what Thornton was doing from the other batter’s box, but he wasn’t able to counter it, and he commented about what makes facing Thornton tough after the game. 

“He does a really good job of maintaining a quick tempo, attacking different parts of the zone, keeping the guys off balance,” added Jones, one of four Thornton strikeout victims. “I think he just did a good job of limiting hard contact and preventing guys from getting on early, and he had a lot of success today.”

There’s still some doubt about whether Thornton can make it because of the inherent bias toward high velocity in today’s game, but he doesn’t care about that. He’s said that hitting is the hardest thing in the game, and his intent is to make hitters beat him. And for the most part, they’re not. 

He’s also building a strong relationship with the fan base, which doesn’t always happen in New York.

“I love pitching in front of New York fans,” Thornton said as he took an egalitarian view toward the rivalry. “Whether it’s Yankee fans or Mets fans, I think they’re some of the best fans in the world.”