Juan Soto's two home runs not enough, Mets' bullpen falters in 8-4 loss to Nationals
The Mets found themselves in an early hole and didn't have enough offense on Wednesday night, falling 8-4 to the Washington Nationals. Here are the takeaways... -- Zach Thornton had a rough start to his MLB debut, letting up a three-run home run to CJ Abrams on a cutter he left over the middle.
The left-hander was able to settle down and get the next two outs, including his first career strikeout. A walk by Thornton and a throwing error by Hayden Senger gave the the Nats a runner on third with one away, as Keibert Ruiz took advantage with a single to push the lead to 4-1. Thornton got some help from Carson Benge on a catch against the wall to rob extra bases from James Wood and then recorded his second strikeout on his 58th pitch of the night.
Luckily, the 24-year-old got in a groove and tossed two straight 1-2-3 innings in the third and fourth, retiring eight straight. Thornton's debut came to an end in the fifth inning after giving up a double to Ruiz and getting Wood to fly out. The lefty, who's Joe DeMayo's No.
13 overall prospect in the Mets’ system, allowed four runs on four hits with three strikeouts and a walk over 4. 1 IP (80 pitches). -- Mark Vientos got the offense going in the second inning with a leadoff double that took a funny bounce down the left field line.
He advanced to third on a fly out and then scored on Brett Baty 's single to right field, cutting Washington's lead to 3-1. A. J.