Mets’ Jonah Tong assesses what went wrong in worst start of his career

Jonah Tong turned in his worst start of his young career on Friday during the Mets' seventh straight loss.

Sep 12, 2025; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets starting pitcher Jonah Tong (21) reacts during the first inning against the Texas Rangers at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

It was a quick hook for New York Mets starting pitcher Jonah Tong on Friday.

Tong turned in the worst start of his young career against the Texas Rangers, as the right-hander lasted just 0.2 innings, allowing six earned runs on four hits with three walks and one strikeout on 40 pitches. The Mets ultimately fell to Texas, 8-3, dropping their seventh straight game.

The final line for Jonah Tong tonight pic.twitter.com/w7IdR5iZK4

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) September 12, 2025

Hoping to match up well against Jacob deGrom, who was making his anticipated return to Flushing, Tong failed to make it out of the first inning, with his command and velocity clearly an issue on the night.

This rough outing for Tong comes after his last start against the Cincinnati Reds on Saturday, in which he gave up four earned runs and allowed three home runs. Through three big league starts, the 22-year-old is 1-2 with an 8.49 ERA, 13 strikeouts, seven free passes and a 1.71 WHIP in just 11.2 innings pitched.

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A visibly frustrated and upset Tong met with reporters after Friday's game and talked about what went wrong for him.

"I didn't give the start I had for sure wanted," Tong said. "Defintely hurts to put more stress on the bullpen."

"I didn't give the start I had for sure wanted."

Jonah Tong talks about his outing tonight: pic.twitter.com/Z0PRpXNi6I

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 13, 2025

The transition to the major leagues for Tong has undoubtedly been a massive adjustment, as he was just in Double-A nearly a month ago and made only two starts this season in Triple-A before being called up in late August.

Despite these struggles, manager Carlos Mendoza offered this advice to his young starter following his start.

"Keep your head up. Keep going," Mendoza said. "There's no other way around it. Flush that one off and keep moving forward. You continue to learn, but you can't put your head down or do anything like that here and he will."

"Keep your head up. Keep going. There's no other way around it."

Carlos Mendoza shares his message for Jonah Tong after his tough outing tonight: pic.twitter.com/e9RqsZOuYT

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 13, 2025

After seeing Nolan McLean shine during his five starts in the major leagues, followed by Brandon Sproat also impressing during his big league debut against the Reds on Sunday, Tong has become the first of the three young starters for the Amazins' to struggle.

Tong also shared what the veteran pitchers told him after his rough start: "Keep your head up. The sun's going to rise tomorrow. We're going to have some time to reflect on this. Get ready for the next one and just go from there."

With the Mets now losers of seven straight games for the third time already this season, they will turn things over to the aforementioned Sproat on Saturday, who looks to build off his strong major league debut and try to get the Mets back on track with their playoff hopes beginning to dwindle.