Zac Thornton raced toward first base to field the tapper, and if there were any flashbacks to the Jared Young horror from a night prior, they ceased when it became clear the ball would stop rolling a bit sooner.
First baseman Brett Baty gave up chase and stood with his foot on the base. Thornton did not quite grab the ball but instead shoveled it — fielding and tossing in one swift motion before tumbling into foul territory — for a bounce pass to Baty, who scooped it to retire the speedy Trea Turner for the second out of the top of the fifth.
And after a brief visit from the trainer and a warmup pitch, Thornton struck out Bryce Harper swinging, allowing himself a fist-pump as he walked off the field.
Thornton already had established he is a strike-thrower who can record outs at the major league level. In his second-to-last outing of the season, he showed off his glove and guts, too, in furthering his case to be a part of the 2027 rotation.
Thornton was excellent and thrived while living in the strike zone in a 6-3 victory over the Phillies on Friday in front of 29,764 at Citi Field, where he again handled an opposing offense that he might face for years to come.
Against an imposing likely playoff-bound lineup, the lefty allowed just two runs on five hits and a walk in six strong innings. He has pitched twice against Philadelphia and has turned in two quality starts.
He has pitched 14 times in total this season and boasts a 3.40 ERA.
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He let up four earned runs in his debut and since then has surrendered more than three in a start just one time.
The numbers are impressive. The fashion in which he mows through opposing lineups is unique in today’s game. He continues to throw strikes, having walked two or fewer batters in 13 of his 14 starts. He challenged the Phillies and usually (not always, with Edmundo Sosa crushing a first-pitch homer to left-center in the sixth) won those challenges.
The only other run Thornton allowed could have been saved if A.J. Ewing had read the ball off the bat a bit better. In the second, Bryson Stott drilled a shot to center on which Ewing got turned around, then stuck up his glove at the last moment and watched the ball bounce for what would be an RBI double.
Aided by an eight-batter, four-hit, three-run bottom of the first inning and a three-run bomb from Juan Soto in the sixth, Thornton’s work held up.
