Mets Snap Skid, Top Phils, 6-3

Mets 6 Phillies 3 (Citi Field, Flushing, N.Y,)

Mets record: 70-84

Mets streak: Won 1

WP - Zac Thornton (5-5)

LP - Tim Mayza (3-4)

SV - Dedniel Nunez (1)

Seat on the Korner: Zac Thornton

We select a Star of the Game and virtually invite him to take his Seat on the Korner — just as Ralph Kiner did on WOR-TV Channel 9 during the early days of the New York Mets.

Continuing the tradition of Rheingold Beer sponsoring Kiner’s Korner, this season every seat is proudly presented by The Main Event Restaurant & Sports Bar.

With locations in Plainview and Farmingdale, The Main Event features 80+ HD TVs, fresh daily seafood, and Black Angus certified steaks—so you never have to choose between great food and the big game.

With all the talk about Nolan McLean deserving rookie of the year votes and Christian Scott's successful return from Tommy John surgery, it's time to give a little love -- and a Korner seat -- to the third part of the Mets' young rotation troika. If there is one word to describe Zac Thornton, it's consistency. And tonight's performance, against the potent Phillies' lineup, was right in line with his previous 14 career starts: Six innings, five hits, one walk, two runs -- one by homer, the other the result of A.J. Ewing getting turned around on a fly ball.

Thornton has walked two or fewer batters in 13 of his starts. He is holding batters to a .253 average (74-297) with a 3.40 ERA. He doesn't strike batters out, but he gets batters out. And he has completed six or more innings in half of his starts. He probably has one more start this year, but now is as good a time as any for Ralph to review not only tonight's game, but Zac's entire rookie year.

Need to Know

• The win snapped five-game skid.

• With two hits, Carson Benge is now within two of Pete Alonso's team rookie hit record.

• The Mets under Andy Green are 36-37.

• Jared Young update: Young was home, resting comfortably and doing "as good as could be expected and hoped for" manager Andy Green told reporters before tonight's game. Green added that Young has some short-term memory loss and bad headaches but has his "sense of humor intact." Young suffered a concussion when his head collided with Nolan McLean's knee as both were chasing a ground ball in Thursday's game. The Mets placed Young on the seven-day IL, effectively ending his season, but doctors don't expect any long-term issues. Young's 2026 stat line: .266/.330/.429 with 8 HR and 39 RBI in 103 games.

• Called up to replace Young on the roster: Ronny Mauricio. He is not expected to see much action.

• The series continues Saturday with a 4:10 game, following the retiring of Carlos Beltran's Number 15 and his induction into the Mets Hall of Fame. Christian Scott (4-5, 3.76 ERA) is scheduled to get the ball for the Mets, facing Andrew Painter (3-9, 5.54 ERA) .

• The Mets are scheduled to honor Howie Rose before Sunday's game, but fans watching at home may end up watching the SNY Rose documentary instead. The forecast calls for rain.

Turning Point

Elias Sosa's homer in the top of the sixth closed the Mets' lead to one run at 3-2, and you had to begin wondering whether the tide was turning against the Mets. who, after jumping on opener Tim Mayza had done little in the way of offense. In the bottom of the inning, Marcus Semien reached on an infield single, but Brett Baty struck out swinging. Luis Torrens singled, but Francisco Lindor struck out and, again, you had to wonder if the Mets would squander another opportunity. Up to the plate stepped Juan Soto, 1-for-3 to that point. After swinging and missing on a fastball, Soto turned on an Otto Kerkering sweeper and hit it over the 50-50 raffle sign in right center for a three-run homer that gave the Mets a four-run lead and some breathing room.

Three Keys

Take Advantage of the Phils' Pitching Woes

When Jesus Luzardo went on the IL with shoulder inflammation, it created a huge hole in the Phillies' rotation that they are struggling to fill, which explains why they sent Tim Mayza to the mound as the opener in a bullpen game that also was to include Jose Urquidy, claimed off waivers yesterday.

The Mets jumped on Mayza immediately, when Francisco Lindor doubled to center, Bo Bichette singled, Carson Benge singled, scoring Lindor, Mark Vientos walked and suddenly Phils manager Don Mattingly was forced to bring in Urquidy before the hurler had time to properly introduce himself to the bullpen catcher. A.J. Ewing singled to center, scoring Bichette and Benge, suddenly the Mets had a 3-run lead.

Urquidy had not pitched in 10 days, when he gave up two runs over four innings of relief pitching for the White Sox against the Pirates. On balance, after yielding the Ewing single, Urquidy held the Mets scoreless into the sixth, when Otto Kerkering took over and the Mets scored three.

Making It Exciting in Center Field

A.J. Ewing likes playing a shallow center field, which means that quite often, he has to go back on hard hit balls. Sometimes he makes spectacular catches. Other times, such as in the 11th inning against the Orioles earlier this week, Ewing gets turned around chasing balls that might be easy outs if he had been playing deeper. We saw examples of both tonight: two spectacular catches sandwiched around a near-miss that gave the Phils their first run. So how do you feel about this? Should he continue to play shallow, or would you trade the occasional single that falls in front of him for the need to continually make spectacular efforts?

Nunez for the Save

While the league seemes to be figuring out Nate Lavender a little-- Derek Hill homered off him in the seventh -- Dedniel Nunez stepped up to get close out the eighth and pitch - be still, my heart -- a clean ninth for his first since 2024. Anther contributor to what has been one of the positive stories this year: the next-man-up bullpen.