The Mets, a mess of their own making for much of the week, finally scraped together a win on Wednesday evening, avoiding a sweep at the hands of the Cincinnati Reds. The man taking home the win on the stat sheet? That would be 22-year-old right-hander Jonah Tong, making just his second major league appearance of the season.

The Mets once again rolled with their increasingly common opener strategy, with Huascar Brazobán handling a clean first inning before Tong took over in the second. The young righty battled command issues throughout the outing, driving his pitch count up to 76 in just 3 2/3 innings, but he managed to work around four walks and keep Cincinnati at bay. 

The distance from the mound to the plate wasn’t the only area where Tong ran into command trouble, either. A throwing error on a comebacker in the third inning helped spark Cincinnati’s only run of the game against him, though it went down as unearned. Still, Tong managed to steady himself, punching out the final hitter of the frame before cruising through the fourth.

Things started to unravel a bit in the fifth, as Tong issued two more walks and saw his night come to an end after recording two outs. Even so, the damage never came. And right now, that’s really all the Mets can ask for.

Through his first 6 2/3 major league innings of 2026, Tong has yet to allow an earned run. His WHIP sits at a respectable 1.20, and while the strikeout numbers haven’t jumped off the page yet, the early results have been undeniably solid.

What makes it even more intriguing is that Tong still hasn’t actually started a game. Both of his appearances have come as a bulk reliever following an opener, leaving open the question of what the Mets’ long-term plan for the 22-year-old might look like, and when he might slot into a now-struggling and injury-ridden rotation.

“I’ve been prepared in a lot of ways,” Tong said postgame regarding his ability to adapt to different roles. “I credit all of player development for that.”

For a team desperately searching for stability anywhere it can find it, Tong has quietly given them a week of exactly that.