A lost season thus far for the New York Mets has at least unearthed possible future rotation mainstays Nolan McLean, Christian Scott and Zac Thornton.
Scott will look to follow in the footsteps of his fellow youngsters on Wednesday afternoon, when he takes the mound for the visiting Mets in the rubber game of a three-game series against the Milwaukee Brewers.
Scott (3-1, 2.87 ERA) will oppose fellow right-hander Logan Henderson (3-1, 2.97).
Thornton earned his first major league win Tuesday night, when he allowed three hits over six innings as the Mets earned a 4-0 victory over the Brewers.
Thornton, McLean and Scott have been rare bright spots for the Mets, who are in last place in the Nationals League East and 9 1/2 games out of the final NL playoff spot.
Thornton has thrown 18 straight scoreless innings dating to June 26 and has a 1.93 ERA in his first four starts. McLean, the only pitcher among the trio to open the season with the Mets, has allowed more than two earned runs just once in his last nine starts.
Scott, who returned this season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in September 2024, has thrown 10 2/3 scoreless innings over his last two outings and has yet to surrender more than four earned runs in any of his 22 big league starts.
Overall this season, the three pitchers are a combined 11-8 with a 3.03 ERA in 37 starts.
“I’ve always wanted to help this team win ballgames,” Thornton said. “It’s always been my number one thing as a baseball player, not my personal accolades or anything like that.”
The Brewers entered Tuesday with the best record in baseball but slipped a half-game behind the Los Angeles Dodgers in that category following a rare shutout defeat. Milwaukee was blanked for just the fourth time this season and the first time since suffering a 1-0 loss to the San Francisco Giants on June 3.
The Brewers were limited to four hits by Thornton and a trio of relievers Tuesday, though they also had 12 flyouts — including seven against Thornton, whose shutout was preserved when A.J. Ewing ended the sixth by turning around on the left-field warning track and catching Brice Turang’s fly ball to rob the second baseman of a two-run, extra-base hit.
“We did have some balls hit hard, but they don’t count,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “You’ve got to hit them on a line and you’ve got to hit them where they’re not standing.”
Scott earned the win in his most recent start last Thursday, when he tossed 5 2/3 scoreless innings as the Mets beat the Philadelphia Phillies 4-1.
Henderson didn’t factor into the decision on Friday after allowing one run over five innings in the Brewers’ 2-1, 10-inning victory over the Miami Marlins.
Scott has never faced the Brewers, and Henderson has never opposed the Mets.
–Field Level Media
