Tong returns to dominant form in his best start of the season at Triple-A
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Jonah Tong has shown flashes through the first three weeks, but he had yet to put together a dominant outing.
That is no longer the case, and this time, he had some help.
The Mets' No. 2 prospect took a one-hit shutout into the sixth inning and departed after striking out nine over 5 1/3 frames as Triple-A Syracuse routed Worcester, 12-3, on Tuesday night at Polar Park.
Tong, who led the Minors in 2025 with 179 strikeouts, has been up to his usual tricks despite his off-and-on start this season. The 22-year-old rang up six WooSox through three innings and eight through four despite a pair of walks. Anthony Seigler (Red Sox) tallied the lone hit off Tong through five on a two-out single in the fourth.
MLB's No. 43 prospect notched his final K of the evening to start the fifth and breezed through the frame on 13 pitches. A leadoff double and consecutive singles in the sixth put an end to Tong's evening, and he wound up on the hook for a run on four hits and two walks during his season-high 87-pitch outing. It was the first time he worked into the sixth in five starts this season.
Tong generated a relatively low nine whiffs on 40 swings (23 percent), but six of his nine strikeouts came looking. The Toronto native lowered his ERA from 7.04 to 5.66 while boosting his K total to 32 across 22 innings. Despite the high ERA, Tong has held opposing batters to a .167 average.
Tong had plenty of offensive support, thanks to Ronny Mauricio and Ryan Clifford (NYM No. 4)
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Mauricio launched long balls in the fourth, fifth and eighth. The switch-hitter, who has gone yard five times in the past four games, hit all three left-handed -- a pair of two-run homers in consecutive at-bats, then a solo shot that capped his second career five-RBI game and his first since Sept. 2022.
In between Mauricio's second and third dingers of the night, Clifford also amplified the Mets' offensive eruption with his fourth career grand slam. It was the third consecutive game in which the slugging first baseman went deep after homering in both ends of Saturday's doubleheader.