Tong Makes Successful Return To Mets Rotation In Miami

New York Mets starter Jonah Tong returned to the scene of his debut, and Tong was reasonably successful as he pitched five innings and allowed four runs in the Mets 9-4 win over Miami. Tong is 23 now, and he knows he’s a different pitcher. 

“Last year, I felt like a kid going out there every time, just being shell-shocked by a lot of things,” Tong said afterward in an article written by Perla Paredes of MLB.com. “Now, it's more like [my] feet are more set ... and just going out there just trying to do my job.”

Tong gave up four hits, including a three-run homer to Graham Pauley, and his command was a little shaky at times. But the right-hander also struck out seven, showing the stuff that had the Mets and all of baseball intrigued when he made his debut last year. 

“[I felt] good,” Tong said. “Just one walk and a couple of pitches here and there, but it’s just me being nitpicky. Happy with it, [the] team won.”

Tong spent this season at Syracuse, and it was a struggle. His ERA at Triple-A was 4.54, and he went into yesterday’s game with a 3.60 ERA over three appearances back in May and June. He’ll be in the rotation for the rest of the season, and interim manager Andy Green noted that the one bad inning Tong had was costly as the right-hander blew what was then a 3-0 lead. 

“[I’m] really pleased with his outing,” interim manager Andy Green said. “The second inning is one of those things that just the only hits he gives up all day are sequenced together right there, and then the home run bites pretty hard at that point in time.

“To watch him be a cutthroat competitor, get in there and just go right back at them for the next three innings, it was really good. … I know he's not going to love the line at the end of the day, with the four runs coming in, but the way he pitched today was way better than that line is going to indicate.” 

Tong generated a dozen swings-and-misses in the first two innings, which was most by any Mets pitcher in that period since Statcast sarted recording such things. Tong used his changeup to devastating effect, and Green indicated that he probably wants to see more curve balls next time around. 

“I've always loved his curveball,” Green said. “Punches the first four out in the game today [and] doesn't have to use it. Later in the game, he started stealing strikes with it. That probably throws other teams off the scent a little bit. He can really zone it well, so it's a great strike pitch.

“So, something that should feature prominently in his arsenal. … He got going without needing it, but it'll be part of what he does.”