The New York Mets dropped the series opener against the Baltimore Orioles Monday night, 2-1. The offense couldn’t get much going with only six hits. The only highlight was a solo shot to right field off the bat of rookie A.J. Ewing, who continues to swing a hot bat after busting out of his slump.
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No, the offense didn’t give fans much to cheer for. But Jonah Tong is batting a thousand for fans in his two starts. Coming off a gutty performance in his first start of the year last week, Tong didn’t need to show much resilience against the Orioles. In fact, the only batter to reach third while Tong was on the mound scored on a ball that took an unnatural hop near the first base bag and rolled into right field for a double.
Tong scattered four hits and a walk over six strong innings, allowing just the aforementioned unearned run. He struck out six Orioles, needing only 83 pitches to get through six.
In stark contrast to his first start, when he more evenly mixed his changeup (33), four-seamer (27), and cutter (20), Tong went fastball-heavy (46) against the Orioles. However, his changeup and cutter were still evenly split with 16 and 15 offerings, respectively. Playing more off of his four-seamer kept Baltimore off balance all night. It also helped show an increased whiff rate on both his cutter (25% to 33%) and his curveball (0% to 40%).
Tong’s stock as a prospect has taken a hit with his performance in 2026. His recent turnaround is likely too late to climb back up top-100 lists. But it’s certainly coming at the right time for the Mets as they evaluate the team going into the offseason. Do the Mets’ brass feel what he’s shown over the last two months in Triple-A and the bigs is real? If so, it could impact the moves they make this offseason, even if it means just taking on one fewer depth arm.
The Mets were mathematically eliminated from the playoffs with this loss to Baltimore. But one thing to monitor for Tong’s next two starts is his velocity. He averaged a full tick slower on his fastball, changeup, and his cutter. It will be important to see how Tong’s body responds down the stretch of a season. The Mets are hoping to compete in 2027. The role Tong plays in reaching that goal will depend on him.
