Behind scenes with NY Mets and Mariners at MLB Little League Classic
The Little League Classic was a day chock full of events for the Mets and Mariners on Aug. 17, 2025, in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
NEW YORK — Jonah Tong could not mask the smile throughout the experience of his major league debut.
Inside the bullpen as he warmed up to throw his first pitch, a grin emerged and quickly dissipated as he was shown on the scoreboard and met with an eager cheer from the Citi Field crowd. When he twisted up Joey Wiemer on a curveball for his first career strikeout in the third inning, the smirk slipped through again.
The 22-year-old’s merry disposition as he opened his major league career, only 18 days after being promoted to Triple A, proved infectious.
Tong proved he was ready for the moment, allowing one earned run in five innings while striking out six to grab his first career win in a 19-9 result over the Marlins in front of 42,112 fans on Friday night at Citi Field.
“I did take a second just to take it in, everyone always recommends that, and treated it with a big smile on my face,” said Tong, the youngest Mets starter to debut since Jon Niese in September 2008.
The crowd was energized, armed with everything from the cooking utensil that bears his last name to handmade signs, and the Canadian-born pitcher felt the love. He called the experience “insane,” and everything he dream of as a kid.
“He’s walking towards the dugout after the warmup pitches in there in the bullpen and you just see the reaction,” Carlos Mendoza said. “He takes the mound and you see their reaction. Gets the first out, gets through that first inning and we’re gonna feed off that. We feel it. It’s definitely a different feeling and something that’s good to have.”
With the victory, the Mets held serve with the Phillies, who defeated the Braves, to remain five games back in the NL East. They moved five games up on the Reds for the final Wild Card spot after they dropped an extra-inning game to the Cardinals.
Jonah Tong works through the wait
The right-hander fired out of the gate with three quick outs on six pitches.
One of the biggest blessings for Tong — 12 runs of support — also proved to be one of the challenges as he was saddled with a pair of near-half-hour waits between his second and third innings.
As the Mets offense ignited for five runs on three hits and two walks against Marlins starter Eury Perez in the opening inning, Tong first waited 24 minutes before getting back on the mound for the second inning.
“I look to my left and here he is waiting — can’t wait to get back on the mound,” Mendoza said. “But overall, I thought he did a really good job of just throwing strikes and limiting the damage.”
Tong, whose fastball touched 97.7 mph, gave up his first hit in the opening at-bat of the second inning when Otto Lopez stroked a double into the left-field corner. With more curveballs and changeups lower in the zone, Tong left him stranded in scoring position by picking up three straight outs in the infield.
Then, it was another 27 minutes after the Mets collected seven runs on six hits to allow Tong to work with a 12-run cushion.
Tong worked through another test with two runners in scoring position and one out in the third. Tong got through unscathed when he froze Jakob Marsee on a knee-high fastball and picked up a ground ball to second base. The youthful right-hander struck out two more in a perfect fourth inning.
“It’s different, but I feel like, sure their approaches change, and that’s not going to change how I try to attack them,” Tong said. “It was a really cool challenge.”
Pair of errors threaten Jonah Tong’s positive result
Tong’s first career victory nearly fell by the wayside with some sloppy defense behind him.
He entered the top of the fifth inning with 69 pitches but gave up back-to-back hits, including an RBI single to Wagaman, to lead off the frame.
The inning was extended after Francisco Lindor could not glove a flip by Brett Baty and Pete Alonso failed to field an in-between hop at first base for back-to-back errors. Tong picked up a second out on a foul ball but allowed two more runs to reach on a bloop single by Lopez into left field.
It left Mendoza with a difficult choice as Tong’s pitch count reached 91. Liam Hicks would be his last batter and final opportunity to seal a win.
In a full count, Tong threw a borderline fastball on the bottom of the zone and home-plate umpire Andy Fletcher rang up Hicks for the final out.
“Not comfortable,” Mendoza said of the decision. “We had a number in mind, but I’m happy that he was able to get that last, especially after we didn’t make a couple of plays there. It wasn’t easy but I’m glad he got it done.
The crowd delivered the loudest ovation of the night as Tong exited the mound with a win on the horizon.
“That last pitch, I don’t even think I remember everything. It was a blur after,” Tong said. “It was one of those where I really couldn’t hear myself talk, which is a new one. The fans were amazing.”
Mets power up in huge two innings
The Mets provided plenty of support for Tong in his debut.
In the opening frame against Perez, the Mets sent up five batters before recording an out. All five runners would cross, with Juan Soto ripping a two-run home run to right-center field — his 33rd of the season — and Brandon Nimmo blasting a three-run shot into the first row of the second deck in right field.
The Mets forced Perez to throw 39 pitches in the opening frame and he was removed with two outs.
“The guys were on his fastball pretty well,” Nimmo said. “He has an elite fastball, so guys were able to put it in play and have quality at-bats against him and keep the line moving.”
Then, the Mets teed off on reliever Tyler Zuber in the second inning, collecting seven more runs on five hits and two walks against the righty. Alonso sent a two-run opposite field shot to right field before Tyrone Taylor knocked a two-run double to left field. Lindor added a two-run double off Valente Bellozo — charged to Zuber.
Nimmo added his second home run of the night off Bellozo off the right-field foul pole in the bottom of the sixth, giving him 22 long balls on the season.
The Mets added six more runs off Marlins infielder Javier Sanoja in the eighth inning to score their most runs in a home game ever.
“I think it just shows what this offense is capable of when we’re clicking, and we did it against good arms too,” Nimmo said. “That’s really impressive. “