As Jonah Tong walked off the field after each inning Friday night, a Mets fan seated behind the dugout held up a sign reading: “IT’S A NEW DAY DAWNING.”
Indeed.
The 22-year-old righthander, handed a five-run cushion after one inning and a 12-run advantage after two in his MLB debut against the Marlins, passed his first big-league test with flying colors.
Tong tossed five innings, allowing four runs (only one earned in a two-error fifth) and six hits. He struck out six and walked none. The Mets led 12-4 after he exited to a roaring Citi Field crowd.
“It’s an exciting day for the whole organization — player development, scouting, for us here at the big-league level — when you’re talking about a 22-year-old making his major-league debut in the middle of a pennant race,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said before the game. “That’s pretty impressive, and everybody should be excited. I can’t wait to watch him pitch tonight, to be honest with you. Guys are feeling it. It’s a fun day for us and a special day for the whole organization.”
Tong threw 97 pitches, 63 for strikes. He threw 59 four-seam fastballs (averaging 95.4 mph), 24 changeups, 13 curveballs and a slider.
He allowed his only damage in the fifth. Eric Wagaman had an RBI single to make it 12-1. After Tong struck out Joey Wiemer, Francisco Lindor dropped Brett Baty’s throw on a potential double-play starter. Wagaman then scored on Pete Alonso’s error, and Otto Lopez’s single drove in two runs. Tong struck out Liam Hicks to end the fifth.
Tong needed only six pitches in a smooth 1-2-3 first inning that included a 78.9-mph lineout to center, an 80.7-mph flyout to left and a popout to Baty at second.
He had a 5-0 lead after the first following Juan Soto’s two-run homer and Brandon Nimmo’s three-run blast. Lopez led off the second with a double, but Tong retired the next three Marlins.
With a 12-0 lead in the third, Tong recorded his first two big-league strikeouts in a scoreless inning, working around singles by Wagaman and Xavier Edwards.
The run support resulted in a 24-minute gap between his last pitch of the first and his first of the second, and a 27-minute pause between his last second-inning pitch and first third-inning pitch, according to the SNY broadcast.
Tong’s start came 13 days after fellow rookie righthander Nolan McLean, who has dazzled with a 3-0 record and 0.89 ERA in his first three starts, made his debut.
“He needs to be Jonah Tong,” Mendoza said. “Let Nolan McLean be Nolan McLean. And that was the messaging since he stepped into my office yesterday, don’t try to be someone you’re not. . . . Comparing the two is not fair.”
The Mets selected Tong in the seventh round (209th overall) in the 2022 MLB Draft. He went 10-5 with a 1.43 ERA and 179 strikeouts, both minor-league bests, in 22 starts this season, 20 with Double-A Binghamton. He also led the minor leagues with a .148 batting average-against. Tong was promoted to Triple-A Syracuse on Aug. 11 and made just two starts with the team, striking out 17 in 11 2/3 scoreless innings.
A few Mets had overlapped with Tong in minor-league rehab assignments, including Sean Manaea and Brooks Raley in Binghamton this season. Both believe he is well equipped to handle what is to come.
“From what I’ve seen and heard from other people, he’s going to be just fine,” Manaea said. “Just be himself, just like he knows how to, and he’ll be great.”
From an on-field perspective, Raley was impressed.
“I think in this game now, uniqueness is rewarded,” he said. “Whether it be pitch shapes, deception, stride, length, arm slot, you name it. Go down the list, and he’s got a lot of those boxes checked. He’s unique in the way he delivers the ball, but he has good command. He throws hard. He’s fastball changeup. He’s got a good straight over the top 12-6 (curveball).
“It’s just unique to hitters, so it’ll be interesting to see what major-leaguers do with it.”
If Friday night was a precursor, those hitters will be in trouble.
Notes & quotes
The Mets optioned righthander Kevin Herget to Syracuse to make room for Tong . . . Catcher Francisco Alvarez, who suffered a sprained UCL in his right thumb on Aug. 17 and a broken left pinkie in a rehab game on Wednesday, took batting practice off a high-velocity machine. Mendoza said Alvarez’s swing looks normal, and the next steps involve receiving and playing catch, which he also did Friday. “Not going to put a date, but the fact that he’s moving that quick is pretty impressive,” Mendoza said . . . Righthander Tylor Megill (right elbow sprain) pitched four innings for Syracuse in his fourth rehab start Thursday, allowing three runs and four hits, walking four and striking out four. He will make at least one more rehab start.
Ben Dickson joined Newsday’s high school sports staff in 2023 after graduating from Maryland, where he covered several of the Terrapins’ teams.