The Mets have made it known that nothing will be handed to their group of young starters next season, though it’s probably safe to say that Christian Scott, Nolan McLean and Zac Thornton will be in the starting rotation. Jonah Tong is a different case.
The right-hander was projected to be in the rotation for much of this season, but had a mostly up-and-down year in Triple-A instead. The Mets called him up earlier in the month to let him finish the season in the big leagues. Tong had new pitches to work with, and the Mets wanted to see what they would look like against better hitters, and it was probably in the best interest of the 23-year-old to get another cup of coffee in the big leagues.
In three starts, the results have been fine. Tong gave up four earned runs to the Philadelphia Phillies in a 7-2 loss, giving up five hits, walking four and striking out five over 4 2/3 rainy innings on Sunday at Citi Field.
Overall, his major league performance this season has also been fine. In six games (three starts), Tong has posted a 4.21 ERA, showing hitters that while he isn’t just a two-pitch pitcher anymore, the cutter and curveball still need refinement, but the changeup is key
“The changeup has been really good for him since he’s been up,” interim manager Andy Green said. “He’s got a lot of strikeouts with it; it messes with timing. I think even if you look at those shorter at-bats, it’s a lot of 90-94 from the cutter and the four-seamer. It’s just not enough pitch variety to get him, so even if he doesn’t have the greatest feel for that, we’ve got to find a way to kind of reintroduce that and keep that a part of the mix. So that pitch is just very, very important for him.”
With the way he rose through the ranks, Tong had no reason to be anything but confident. The Mets don’t believe this season has shaken him in any way, but the rising rookie who was projected to be a phenom a year ago has taken some big hits this season.
Sunday’s outing had a chaotic start, with Tong giving up two runs before getting spiked on his foot by Bryson Stott. Tong went to cover first base and take a flip from Mark Vientos right at the same time Stott caught up with him in a foot race. Tong, briefly forgetting what sport he played, turned and tried to drop his shoulder on Stott in an attempt to gain positioning at the bag.
The Canadian looked more like a hockey player trying to body up to a defender in front of the net on the power play. Stott stepped on his foot, the two collided and Tong went flying. He jumped up and immediately went down to the tunnel limping, but returned for the second inning.
“I’ve got to work on standing my ground there,” he said. “I guess I think I caught some airtime, which was kind of interesting. I think I just need to do a better job, especially that first inning, to set the tone. I competed well through it, but again, my job is to limit the damage and go from there.”
Two leadoff walks to Kyle Schwarber burned him in the end. The Phillies capitalized in the first and third innings. With two on and two out in the fifth, the Mets went to the bullpen for Jack Weisenburger, who got out of the jam.
Bo Bichette homered off left-hander Christopher Sanchez in the sixth, cutting the Philadelphia lead to 4-1. Brett Baty drove in a run credited to Sanchez after the Phillies removed him from the game in the bottom of the seventh with an RBI single off Alex McFarlane. With one out and runners on first and second, Francisco Lindor popped was out on the infield fly rule, and McFarlane struck out Juan Soto.
The Mets would get no further.
The game concluded the 2026 home slate in Flushing. It was sparsely attended, with fans opting to stay out of the rain to listen to Howie Rose’s final game in the comfort of their own homes.
The fans who came saluted Rose by chanting his name throughout the final innings of the game. They applauded as the Mets looked up to the broadcast booth and tipped their caps to the legendary broadcaster while he took in the crowd one last time, with tears in his eyes.
“Just a huge congratulations to Howie and all he’s done,” Tong said. “I know his impact won’t be lost on each and every single one of us. I think for me especially, he was one of the first people I met when I came up here, and I mean, his catchphrase and his smile are always something I’ll remember moving forward. Just best luck to him and his family.”
With a lockout looming, who knows when fans will see Citi Field next.
The Mets still have six more games to play this season to end the year on a more memorable note, and Tong will have one more start. The season ended months ago, and now that it’s ended for Rose too, the feeling of finality is near.