Since returning to the New York Mets from Triple-A Syracuse, right-hander Jonah Tong has shown poise and faced challenges on the rubber. Across his last three outings, the former top prospect has recorded 25 strikeouts in more than 25 innings. Still, he has given up 13 hits and eight earned runs, including four in Sunday’s 7–2 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies at Citi Field.
“I don’t think he was far off today. I thought he did some good things,” interim manager Andy Green said following the loss.
Jonah Tong Returns
When the Mets initially promoted Tong earlier this season he struggled. In three outings, he surrendered eight hits, four earned runs and seven walks. He managed to total seven strikeouts, but was unable to produce consistently.
For those reasons, the Mets optioned Jonah Tong to Triple-A Syracuse. Back in the minor leagues, the 22-year-old righty own an 5–6 record and had a 4.54 ERA with 126 strikeouts. His game was trending in a positive direction which led to the team promoting him to the main roster once again.
This time around Tong was able to make a positive contribution, recording seven strikeouts in five innings in a 9–4 win over the Miami Marlins. In his next outing against the Baltimore Orioles, he struck out six batters in four innings while giving up a run. Despite the performance, the Mets went on to drop that game.
Facing Challenges
Tong struggled in his next start against the Phillies. He walked Kyle Schwarber and gave up a single to Bryce Harper in the first. He surrendered two runs after that, including an RBI single from Alec Bohm.
Jonah Tong began to settle in for the second inning when he struck out Brandon Marsh and J.T. Realmuto. However, he walked Schwarber again in the third and Trea Turner lined an RBI double off him. The Mets righty also gave up an RBI single to Luis Arraez.
Tong made it through the fourth when he struck out Marsh and Justin Crawford. Still, he walked Turner in the fifth and Bohm singled him off. Tong ended the outing with five strikeouts, five hits, four walks and four earned runs in more than four innings. His record fell to 2–2 as he has a 4.21 ERA. Yet, Green noted many of the positive aspects of his outing.
“The changeup has been really good for him since he’s been out. He’s gotten a lot of strikeouts with it and the timing if you look at the timing during the Schwarber at bats it’s a lot of 90 to 94 from the cutter,” Green added. “It’s just not enough pitch variety to see from him so when he doesn’t have the greatest feel for that will find a way to reintroduce that as part of the mix.”
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