Astros Silence Citi Field, Expose Thornton's Mortality in 6-3 Road Win

So much for that "massive 5.00 ERA advantage." The Astros waltzed into Queens and handed us a humbling 6-3 loss, turning our Mets -121 pick into expensive confetti. Zac Thornton, the guy we crowned as some elite ace with his 2.88 ERA, got absolutely worked by Houston's lineup. Turns out Yordan Alvarez and Isaac Paredes don't care about your pretty spreadsheets—they came to mash, and mash they did. Thornton's "elite profile" looked decidedly mortal when it mattered, surrendering enough damage to put the Mets in an early hole they never climbed out of.

Meanwhile, Ethan Pecko—yes, the same 7.88 ERA disaster we gleefully faded—somehow kept the Mets' bats quiet enough for Houston to cruise. Did he suddenly discover command? Did the Mets just gift him weak contact all night? Either way, the result stings. New York managed three runs at home, a far cry from that 3.09 runs-for average we leaned on, and the momentum from yesterday's 6-2 win evaporated faster than a fastball over the plate.

Bottom line: we got cooked. The numbers suggested value at -121, but baseball laughed in our face. Thornton wasn't the stopper we needed, and the Astros proved once again they don't rebuild—they reload.