Jonah Tong turned around a shaky stretch of outings for a dominant start for Triple-A Syracuse on Friday night.
After issuing a leadoff walk to George Lombard Jr. in the first inning, Tong set down the next three hitters he faced in order, all via strikeout.
He got into trouble in the second after another leadoff walk and a hard-hit single. A groundout scored a run, and another single put runners back on the corner with one out, but Tong buckled down for a strikeout and a groundout to end the threat.
Tong’s best frame came in the third, as he struck out the side in order. He won an eight-pitch battle with J.C. Escarra and a six-pitch battle with Spencer Jones, finishing with a four-pitch punchout of Marco Luciano. Tong was clean again in the fourth, only needing to work around a two-out walk.
COMPLETE METS PROSPECT COVERAGE
With his pitch count climbing, Tong couldn’t get out of the fifth. He struck out the leadoff man before a hard-hit single and a bloop single. A groundout and a walk finished Tong’s day, loading the bases with two outs. Joe Jacques quickly induced a flyout to preserve Tong’s final line.
In total, Tong tossed 91 pitches (54 strikes). The 23-year-old righty induced 16 swings-and-misses and earned strikeouts on each of his four-seamer, changeup and cutter.
Tong lowered his season ERA to 5.59 with the performance. After pitching to a 7.17 ERA in June, he’s now allowed two or fewer runs in consecutive starts.