Mets’ Zac Thornton reveals mindset amid struggle vs. Braves

It’s all about looking forward to the future for the New York Mets after they accepted their fate as a selling ballclub at the trade deadline. On Wednesday, it was rookie Zac Thornton’s turn to take the mound once more. Thornton has been emerging as a solid rotation piece for a Mets team that is aiming to make amends as soon as next season for their brutal 2026 campaign, but he did not have the best of starts against the NL East leader Atlanta Braves on Wednesday.

In a 6-3 loss to the Braves, Thornton took the loss after allowing three runs in six innings of work. The 24-year-old lefty wasn’t very efficient during his time on the mound, as he routinely fell behind in the count, putting himself in difficult situations. He threw only 47 of his 80 total pitches on the night for strikes, punching out two while walking just one. In fact, Thornton fell behind in the count against 14 of the 24 batters he faced.

The improvements Thornton need to make moving forward cannot be any clearer, and the Mets starter knows it.

“Just knowing that I have to consistently keep throwing strikes. Just knowing that I gotta get in there knowing that I gotta work behind on batters,” Thornton said, via SNY Mets on X.

Zac Thornton on his gritty outing tonight in Atlanta:

"Just knowing that I have to consistently keep throwing strikes. Just knowing that I gotta get in there knowing that I gotta work behind on batters" pic.twitter.com/yWjJ5r3ZIk

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) August 13, 2026

It is certainly promising that Thornton is able to get himself out of tricky situations more often than not. Batters typically perform better when they’re ahead in the count, so the Mets starter deserves credit for getting outs however he can.

Alas, Thornton’s stuff isn’t already the best (he entered action against the Braves striking out just around six batters per nine innings), so his command needs to be pinpoint for him to succeed more consistently.

But considering how early it is in Thornton’s big-league career, time is on his side to iron out the kinks in his game.

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