QUEENS, NY — Sometimes, it takes just one play to dictate the trajectory of a starting pitcher’s day, and for the young New York Mets’ hurler Jonah Tong, issues were bubbling early for him on Thursday afternoon.
With one out in the first inning against the San Diego Padres at Citi Field, the 22-year-old right-hander gave up a single to Luis Arraez before Manny Machado smacked a line drive that one-hopped the wall in left field.
But instead of staring down the barrel of a one-out jam with runners on second and third, Tong received a lifeline. Machado wasn’t running at full speed, and left-fielder Brandon Nimmo played the ball flawlessly off the bounce, delivered a clean relay throw to shortstop Francisco Lindor, who quickly turned it to Jeff McNeil at second to lay the tag on the Padres’ star.
“That was huge,” Tong said. “I remember, I was running and I was like, ‘Oh, no, I have to cover home plate.’ And then I turned around and I saw the throw and was like ‘oh.'”
He then set down Jackson Merrill swinging on a looping curveball to escape the first, which was farther than he went just six days prior, after one play set calamity into motion that ultimately ruined his night.
Against the Texas Rangers last Friday night at Citi Field, Tong was faced with a first-and-third, two-out jam when he got ahead of Josh Jung 0-2 — just one strike from an escape. But the youngster left a fastball too far over the inside of the plate, and the Rangers’ third baseman smacked it into right to score the opening run.
The wheels fell off. Tong did not record another out, recorded six runs, and was pulled before the opening frame ended in the Mets’ 8-3 loss.
“[That play left a] huge impact,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said of the relay throw that cut down Machado at second on Thursday. “We’re talking about not only a game-changer, but it’s a completely different inning. You’re looking at second and third, one out, with the middle of the lineup coming out. We saw last outing where he was only a pitch away from getting out of that first inning, and then he kinda unfolded there. It was huge that we were able to execute some fundamentals there… I’m glad we were able to help him there.”
Tong got a lead in the first inning thanks to Pete Alonso’s 37th home run of the season, but gave it up in the third when Fernando Tatis Jr. singled, moved to second on Tong’s throwing error on a pick-off attempt, and then to third on a wild pitch before scoring on Luis Arraez’s sacrifice fly.
That was the last the Padres would touch New York’s hurler, as Arraez’s sac fly was the first of eight consecutive outs to get Tong through the fifth inning to leave with a gem: One run on four hits with eight strikeouts and zero walks in the Mets’ 6-1 win.
He hit his stride as his afternoon grew longer. He struck out four straight Padres between the fourth and fifth innings, spurned on by a fastball that punched out seven of his day’s eight victims.
“That’s kind of the guy we saw at the minor-league level,” Mendoza said. “He got the swings and misses with the fastball at the top [of the zone], the changeup, the curveball, attacking. It was pretty impressive… The pitch selection, execution, I think it was the total package there.”
It was as good a bounce-back as Tong and the Mets could have hoped for. Following his nightmare against the Rangers, the youngster was on the verge of tears, imploring that the “sun will rise tomorrow.” But the composure and maturity that he showed the next day as he began preparations for Thursday’s start left Mets brass and veterans alike impressed.
“The very next day, he was going through video,” Mendoza said. “The mindset was already on this game. Then you’re watching him throwing his side and the way he’s interacting and carrying himself, it’s the same guy. Those are some really positive signs from a kid who is going through what we’re going through here with the schedule and the meaning of every game. For him to have an outing that he’s capable of, you saw a lot of things that for a kid this age are pretty impressive.”
“I’ve had outings like [the Texas one] in the past, and it reminded me of last year when I was in high-A,” Tong, whose meteoric rise this season began with him in Double-A, added. “It takes a day to let it flush, and then you get right back to it.”
Tong forced the Mets’ hand to make the jump to the majors way ahead of schedule, especially within an organization where president of baseball operations, David Stearns, likes to take things slow with his top pitching prospects. But Tong was untouchable in the minors, going 10-5 with a 1.43 ERA between Double- and Triple-A, though he made just two starts with Syracuse before getting the call to Queens.
While questions about his standing in the majors were understandably raised following Friday night’s game against Texas, Thursday’s gem quieted them back down.
“He’s got sky-high potential, and you see him kind of develop into a big-league professional right in front of our eyes,” Alonso said. “I know he was really stoked to get back on the mound and make some adjustments. I was really stoked for him; he threw the ball excellent today for us.”
Now, instead of wondering if he’ll be taken out of the rotation, the Mets’ uncertain pitching picture behind Nolan McLean and Brandon Sproat opens the floor for inquiries about Tong’s inclusion on the postseason roster.
“I’m just going to be where my feet are and let that stuff take care of itself,” Tong said.
For more on Jonah Tong and the Mets, visit AMNY.com
