Jonah Tong, the New York Mets' second-ranked prospect, struggled on Wednesday, giving up five home runs during a five-inning start for Triple-A Syracuse against Columbus. This outing marked a difficult turn for the 23-year-old pitcher, who had previously shown strong performance in his recent starts.
Tong began his outing with a strong first inning, requiring only 12 pitches. He recorded his first strikeout in the second inning against Ralphy Velazquez, the Guardians' top prospect. However, his performance shifted in the third inning when Dayan Frias hit a home run on an up-and-in 0-2 fastball, which appeared to open the scoring floodgates. The following inning saw the Clippers hit three consecutive home runs off Tong from George Valera, Kody Huff, and Milan Tolentino, with each ball traveling over 385 feet. In his final inning, Velazquez hit his second home run off Tong, marking the fifth long ball of the game.
Tong's final stat line for the game included five hits, six runs (five earned), one walk, and one hit batsman, with three strikeouts. His earned run average at Triple-A rose to 5.46. This outing concluded a successful three-game stretch for Tong, during which he had allowed only three runs and recorded 18 strikeouts over his previous 14 2/3 innings.
Since his return to the International League at the start of June after a stint with the major league club, Tong has pitched 47 2/3 innings over 10 starts. In that period, he has allowed 33 runs and 12 home runs on 49 hits and 25 walks, with an ERA of 5.29 and a WHIP of 1.552. He was recalled by the Mets in late May and primarily pitched in a bulk relief role. Following a difficult outing where he surrendered four runs in 3 1/3 innings, he was sent back to Triple-A.