After dazzling at the Futures Game, Mets pitching prospect Jonah Tong took the ball to kick things off out of the break for the Rumble Ponies and delivered yet another outstanding performance.
Tong went 5.1 innings and allowed a run on two hits while walking two and striking out seven. He threw 73 pitches (43 strikes).
Binghamton handed the 22-year-old the lead by scoring a run in the top of the first, but Tong gave up his only run of the night in the bottom half of the inning which included a leadoff walk and a throwing error on a pickoff attempt (Tong's second error of the season). A single and a groundout scored the tying run.
The right-hander settled down from there in a big way.
After a one-out walk in the second, Tong retired 11 straight batters before allowing his second hit of the night, a leadoff single in the sixth. Tong ended his outing with a flyout before getting pulled, though he left with a 2-1 lead after the Rumble Ponies scored a run in the top half of the inning.
Tong lowered his ERA to 1.71 across 16 starts and 84 innings pitched.
In Triple-A, things didn't go as well for Nolan McLean.
Entering the game in the second inning after Jose Buttó pitched a scoreless first inning while on rehab assignment, McLean's outing began oddly. He struck out the first batter he faced, but a passed ball by Francisco Alvarez allowed the runner to reach base safely. From there, it was a struggle for the right-hander.
McLean managed to get out of the second inning unscathed thanks to a double play, but he allowed a run in the third, three in the fourth and two in the fifth. In 3.2 innings — his shortest outing with Syracuse — the 23-year-old allowed six runs on four hits, including a three-run homer, and three walks. He struck out six and threw 84 pitches (45 strikes).
It was the worst start for McLean this season as he allowed the most runs he's given up this season, raising his ERA to 3.22. It also broke a streak of nine straight outings in which he allowed two earned runs or fewer.
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