Thornton (4-7) earned the win over Baltimore on Thursday, hurling six innings and allowing one run on five hits and no walks while striking out two.
Thornton was coming off a 10-day stint on the injured list with right elbow inflammation but showed no signs of injury or rust, limiting the Orioles to six baserunners on five singles and a hit batsman while tossing 58 of 87 pitches for strikes. He was successful despite missing few bats, as he whiffed only two hitters and induced a mere six swinging strikes. The victory comes on the heels of a pair of rough post-break outings in which the rookie surrendered nine earned runs in 4.1 combined innings. Thornton now carries a 4-7 record along with a 5.23 ERA and 102:45 K:BB over 105 innings and is next scheduled for a road start against the Rays on Tuesday.