Zac Thornton gets first big league win as Mets top Brewers

MILWAUKEE — Zac Thornton‘s father, Paul Thornton, made a living on his legs as a track and field athlete, and then as a college track coach. When an April operation to remove a tumor on his spine went wrong, he lost the use of his legs, experiencing a paralysis that has left him mostly confined to a wheelchair while he relearns how to walk.

Tuesday night at American Family Field, the University of Kansas vertical jumps coach watched Zac dominate one of the best teams in baseball with his right arm. The 24-year-old left-handed rookie shut out the Milwaukee Brewers over six innings in the New York Mets’ 4-0 win.

The series is even at 1-1, and the Mets can take the win Wednesday afternoon.

There was nothing fancy about Thornton’s outing; he simply attacked hitters, threw strikes, trusted his stuff and got quick outs, retiring 13 in a row between the end of the first inning and the end of the fifth.

Two of those hits came in the bottom of the sixth. Cooper Pratt and Joey Ortiz, the Nos. 8 and 9 hitters, each hit singles to put runners on first and second with no outs. It was the first time Thornton had been in any trouble since the first inning, when he had runners on the corners, but got out of the jam with a 1-4-3 double play.

He got out of trouble again, relying on his defense for two big outs to protect a 3-0 lead.

After leadoff hitter Jackson Chourio struck out, it brought up Brice Turang, a left-handed hitting second baseman who has killed the Mets since he was a rookie. He came into the game with an OPS over 1.000 against the Mets and three home runs. Thornton went ahead, 0-2, only for Turang to come back.

At 2-2, Pratt and Ortiz tried a double steal, but got caught in a rundown. Ortiz retreated back to first base safely while Pratt tried for third, sliding into Bo Bichette’s glove for the tag, and the second out.

Once the at-bat resumed, Thornton threw Turang a curveball to try to get a double play. Turang didn’t budge, taking it for ball 3. The pitch just barely missed the bottom inside corner of the zone. With the count full, Thornton threw a cutter, and Turang put a good swing on it, driving it 356 feet back to the left field warning track. It should have gone for extra bases and it nearly did.

The ball was nearly over A.J. Ewing’s head, and the left fielder had to turn around at the track and change directions. He covered 86 feet, making the catch as he fell in the dirt, holding the ball up in his glove triumphantly.

Thornton leaped over the third base line in celebration.

His parents, Paul and Julie, made the drive from Kansas to see his outing. Paul has nearly graduated to a walker after months of physical therapy. The family was in Washington for Zac’s debut, but this outing might have meant more: It was Zac’s first big league win (1-1).

Former Mets prospect Brandon Sproat, the key part of the trade for Freddy Peralta, gave up two earned runs over 4 2/3 innings (3-5).

Jared Young and Luis Robert Jr. each homered, with Robert Jr.’s coming in the top of the eighth. That eliminated the opportunity for a save for former Brewers closer Devin Williams, but his outing was no less momentous.

The last time Williams was on the mound in Milwaukee, he was the closer for the Brewers. Pete Alonso hit the historic home run in the wild-card series, Williams took the loss and then went to the New York Yankees. He pitched around a leadoff single to come away victorious this time.

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