NEW YORK (AP) — Jonah Tong walked in from the bullpen to a loud ovation and took the mound to another boisterous reaction from the sellout crowd.
Tong threw six pitches in three minutes and then sat for about 25 minutes. The 22-year-old Canadian threw 20 more in the second inning and his break lasted slightly longer.
In his anticipated debut, Tong completed his first five innings as a major leaguer on a Friday night when the Mets set a team record for runs in a home game and earned another start in New York’s six-man rotation in the midst of a playoff race.
“Insane, that’s everything I’ve ever dreamed of as a kid growing up,” Tong said. ”
The Mets hit two of their six homers in a five-run first inning, added another in a 28-minute seven-run second when they sent 11 to the plate en route to a 19-9 victory over the Marlins.
“He was very good,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “It was kind of a like a weird game.”
Tong got three outs in the air in the first, then Juan Soto hit a two-run homer and Brandon Nimmo belted a three-run drive in the bottom of the inning.
“I’m never going to complain about run support and that was insane but I just made pitches on my part,” Tong said.
With the sellout crowd of 42,112 fans seemingly willing him to the finish, he got a called third strike on Liam Hicks with a 95 mph fastball.
“I couldn’t really feel my feet, but everything I ever dreamed of,” Tong said.
Tong got six strikeouts with a drastic over-the-top delivery. He threw 97 pitches and showcased 59 fastballs that averaged 95.4 mph.
The memorable debut occurred with his parents, grandfather, aunt, uncle and agent and girlfriend in the crowd along with his first professional pitching coach Garrett Baker.
Tong was 8-5 with a 1.59 ERA and 162 strikeouts against 44 walks in 20 starts spanning 102 innings at Double-A Binghamton. He was promoted to Triple-A Syracuse on Aug. 11 and was 2-0 with 17 strikeouts and three walks in 11 2/3 scoreless innings.
___ AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
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