Mets provide Jonah Tong with historic offensive performance in MLB Debut

Jonah Tong received historic offensive help from the New York Mets lineup in his debut.

Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

The New York Mets welcomed another young pitching phenom to the big leagues on Friday evening, as their No. 4 ranked prospect and No. 2 ranked pitcher Jonah Tong made his highly-anticipated debut.

Nearly two weeks after Nolan McLean, the team’s No. 3 ranked prospect and No. 1 ranked pitcher, made his debut against the Seattle Mariners, it was Tong’s turn to give a glimpse of the future. Like his teammate, the debut was a stellar one. The Mets have been in desperate need of starting pitching help and these youngsters are providing it.

On Friday against the Marlins, Tong got things started with a bang. He worked quickly through the first three hitters of the game, recording a 1-2-3 inning on six pitches. After that, he had to wait a long time to take the mound again. That is because the Mets’ offense went nuclear in support of him.

Jonah Tong on receiving end of historic Mets offensive performance

Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

In the bottom of the first inning, New York scored five runs. The first five batters of the game all reached base, with Juan Soto and Brandon Nimmo providing the punctuation marks with home runs. After working a scoreless second inning, Tong received even more run support in the bottom half.

The Mets would tack on seven more runs. After the first two batters of the inning were retired, nine consecutive New York batters reached base. Pete Alonso hit a home run while Tyrone Taylor and Francisco Lindor added run-scoring doubles in the barrage.

Tonight's game has been going for one hour and two minutes.

The Mets have sent 20 men to the plate. The Marlins have sent seven. Jonah Tong has thrown 26 pitches. Marlins pitchers have thrown 91.

The Mets have scored 12 runs. The Marlins have scored zero.

— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) August 30, 2025

Holding a 12-0 lead, Tong would cruise through five innings, but he did run into a few obstacles along the way. In the third inning, he allowed two singles but was able to work around that to keep the shutout alive. After a 1-2-3 fourth inning, he allowed four runs (only one earned) in the fifth due to some defensive miscues, but capped off his outing by striking out Liam Hicks. Tong finished the evening with six strikeouts against no walks.

Read More: Mets pitching prospect Jonah Tong sharp in MLB debut

Even after Tong departed, the Mets continued to relentlessly mash the ball. Nimmo added his second homer of the game in the sixth inning, and six more runs scored against Marlins position player Javier Sanoja on the mound; Mark Vientos and Luis Torrens each hit homers to put the finishing touches on a 19-9 win.

According to OptaSTATS, Tong is the second pitcher in the modern era to earn the win during his MLB debut when a team scores 19+ runs. The last time it happened was on September 13, 1935; on that day, Earl Huckleberry of the Philadelphia A’s (in the only game of his career) defeated the White Sox, with a final score of 19-7. Additionally, the 19 runs were the most the Mets had ever scored in a home game.

Jonah Tong of the @Mets is the second pitcher in the modern era to earn the win in his MLB debut while having his team score 19+ runs for the game.

The other was Earl Huckleberry for the Philadelphia A's against the White Sox on September 13, 1935 (19-7 final score). pic.twitter.com/qs3pvnEzkM

— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) August 30, 2025

That kind of run support certainly makes most MLB pitchers jealous, especially some former Mets pitchers. Fans will remember how little run support Jacob deGrom received in his career, questioning whether 19 runs were scored during his entire tenure with the franchise, let alone in one game.

While Tong may have had plenty of room for error due to the incredible run support he got, he still held his own in a memorable debut. It's unlikely that the Mets will put up 19 runs for him in his next start, but if he can put up zeroes as the offense continues to produce, that's all New York will need from him.