Jonah Tong tossed five solid innings and earned the win in his major league debut Friday night, when the New York Mets provided him a historic burst of run support in a 19-9 rout of the visiting Miami Marlins.
The 19 runs scored are a club record in a home game for the Mets, whose 12 runs in the first two innings were also the most in team history. New York has split the first two games of the four-game set to improve to 9-4 since Aug. 16.
The Marlins fell to 8-17 since Aug. 4.
Tong, who earned the promotion by posting a 1.43 ERA in 22 minor league starts this season, needed just six pitches in a 1-2-3 first before the Mets scored five times in the bottom half against Eury Perez (6-4), who gave up a two-run homer to Juan Soto and a three-run blast to Brandon Nimmo before exiting after only two outs.
The Mets scored seven times in the second — all after Tyler Zuber recorded the first two outs. Pete Alonso hit a two-run homer and Starling Marte had an RBI single before Tyrone Taylor and Francisco Lindor added two-run doubles.
Nimmo homered again in the sixth and the Mets scored six runs against infielder Javier Sanoja in the eighth, when Taylor sandwiched another two-run double between Mark Vientos’ solo homer and Luis Torrens’ three-run shot.
Tong gave up four runs (one earned) on six hits and no walks while striking out six. All four runs scored following a pair of Mets errors in the fifth, when Eric Wagaman had an RBI single and scored on Alonso’s miscue before Otto Lopez laced a two-run single.
Joey Wiemer lofted a sacrifice fly in the eighth before the Marlins added four runs in the ninth against Torrens, who gave up Lopez’s two-run homer, Liam Hicks’ solo round-tripper and Troy Johnston’s RBI triple. Ryne Stanek got the final two outs.
Perez gave up five runs on three hits and two walks while throwing 39 pitches.
