For most of their games since the All-Star break, the Mets bullpen had become a relative strength, a group that produced the third-lowest ERA in the majors at 2.64 after the season resumed. For most of this month, too, Jared Young had done enough with his bat to play his way into conversations about a role for next season, an unexpected development considering his career trajectory to this point.
But across two innings Sunday, an afternoon when rookie Zac Thornton once again did more than enough during his start, both combined to sink the Mets in their 6-3 loss to the Astros to cap a six-game homestand at Citi Field.
Jonathan Pintaro and Jefry Yan allowed an earned run each after taking over for Thornton, while Young’s brutal throwing error in the seventh brought home another run.
And when paired with a relatively quiet afternoon offensively, that was enough to send the Mets (61-76) to a fourth loss in five games and a third consecutive series defeat.
Thornton, though, gave the Mets a chance. He needed 97 pitches to navigate five innings — a number inflated by a 12-pitch at-bat and a pair of eight-pitch at-bats — but still flashed more of the potential that has turned the left-hander into an intriguing piece of the Mets’ future.
After a leadoff homer from Jeremy Peña, when one of his staple cutters ended up on the other side of the center field fence, Thornton only allowed one extra-base hit the rest of his outing.
He finished with six hits and a pair of earned runs allowed while striking out five batters and walking none. His ERA across his first 11 MLB starts dipped to 2.93. He even added an extra fist pump after striking out Jose Altuve to end the fifth.
Pintaro, who’d allowed just two earned runs in his last 9 ²/₃ innings, allowed Yainer Diaz to double with two outs in the sixth inning before LaMonte Wade Jr. crushed a pinch-hit, two-run homer to give Houston a 4-3 lead. In the next frame, Yan loaded the bases with one out via a walk, infield single and hitting Christian Walker, but he still managed to induce a grounder toward Young.
After Young stepped on first base for a force out, his throw sailed over the head of Francisco Alvarez at the plate — and his fifth error of the season allowed Diaz to easily score and put the Astros up by three.
The Mets couldn’t generate a response in the innings that followed, either. Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto launched back-to-back homers to start the first inning — the fifth time in franchise history the Mets have started a game with consecutive home runs — to erase the damage from Peña’s leadoff blast and give the Mets a temporary lead.
Bo Bichette followed with a single, but they managed just two hits the rest of the game.
And then everything unraveled once the game reached the bullpen.
