<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/new-york-mets/mets-news-nolan-mclean-rookie-starters-dominate-amid-wild-card-race');   ga('set', 'title', 'Mets’ Nolan McLean, Brandon Sproat, Jonah Tong dominate amid Wild Card race');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Mets-rookie-phenom-Nolan-McLean-deals-on-the-mound.jpg"><figcaption>Eric Hartline-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Mets’ Nolan McLean, Brandon Sproat, Jonah Tong dominate amid Wild Card race</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-09-19T10:06:06-07:00">September 19th, 10:06am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-09-19T10:06:27-07:00">September 19th, 10:06am</time><address><a>Alex House</a>Alex House is a sports journalist who covers the NFL, NBA, and MLB for ClutchPoints. He grew up in a New York sports-heavy region in Connecticut and earned his journalism degree at the University of Rhode Island. His in-depth knowledge of two of the most passionate and raucous fan bases in the country gives him a truly unique writing voice.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The signs were there. Sean Manaea was a prime regression candidate, Kodai Senga faced serious durability concerns in 2024 (10 1/3 innings pitched in regular season and playoffs), Clay Holmes was unlikely to ever be a workhorse after spending the last several years of his career as a reliever and Frankie Montas has not been a productive hurler since the first half of 2022. The New York Mets’ starting pitching rotation appeared doomed before the new campaign even began.</p><p>Following an initial wave of collective dominance, the cracks started forming. A severe rupture then occurred, which contributed to the club’s plunge in the National League standings. Though, thanks to a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/new-york-mets/mets-news-rival-scout-drops-nasty-take-new-york-young-saviors">trio of rookie right-handers</a>, the Mets are still holding onto a playoff slot with nine games remaining in the regular season. There is a realistic possibility they end up sparing Flushing from one of the most catastrophic outcomes in modern MLB history.</p><p>Nolan McLean, Brandon Sproat and Jonah Tong, all of whom made their MLB debuts within three weeks of each other, have <a href="https://x.com/SNY_Mets/status/1969033448867172604" rel="noopener">combined to pitch 17 scoreless innings</a> of 15-hit ball with 18 strikeouts and two walks in their most recent starts, via SNY. This youthful revolution is not adding energy into the clubhouse. It is desperately needed.</p><h2><b>Can the desperate Mets trust their youngsters to push them into the playoffs?</b></h2><p>Although their arrivals have not fixed all the Mets’ problems — the team lost eight straight games earlier this month before <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/new-york-mets/mets-news-pete-alonso-losing-streak-walk-off-home-run-rangers">Pete Alonso erupted</a> — they are coming through when it matters most. McLean has been terrific since debuting on Aug. 16, posting a 4-1 record with a 1.19 ERA and 40 strikeouts in 37 2/3 innings of work. He has tossed at least five innings in all six of his starts, immediately conducting himself like a modern ace. If New York (79-74) maintains its two-game lead over both the Cincinnati Reds and Arizona Diamondbacks and claims the final Wild Card slot, the 24-year-old will be a major reason why.</p><p>Sproat is also providing a big boost, allowing only three runs on nine hits in 12 innings. Tong has been more erratic in his four outings, surrendering six runs to the Texas Rangers on Sept. 12, while also <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/new-york-mets/mets-news-brandon-nimmo-gives-young-ace-strong-support">shutting out the San Diego Padres</a> for five frames on Thursday. These three pitchers each offer their own brand of promise, and New York is hoping to benefit for a long time.</p><p>Trusting three inexperienced talents to take the mound in high-pressure situations down the stretch and potentially in October is certainly not ideal, and it probably could have been avoided if president of baseball operations David Stearns made some different choices in the offseason, but it is making for a solid backup plan at the moment.</p><p>The Mets welcome the Washington Nationals (62-91) into Citi Field for a three-game set this weekend. Brandon Sproat will start on Friday and Nolan McLean will try to clinch the series on Saturday.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Mets’ Nolan McLean, Brandon Sproat, Jonah Tong dominate amid Wild Card race

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/new-york-mets/mets-news-sean-manaea-helped-jonah-tong-disastrous-start');   ga('set', 'title', 'How Sean Manaea helped Jonah Tong after disastrous Rangers start');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Jonah-Tong.jpg"><figcaption>Brad Penner-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>How Sean Manaea helped Jonah Tong after disastrous Rangers start</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-09-18T13:22:22-07:00">September 18th, 1:22pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-09-18T13:35:49-07:00">September 18th, 1:35pm</time><address><a>Mike Gianakos</a>Mike Gianakos is the former editor-in-chief of High Times magazine, where he also spearheaded the video department and event production. He is a longtime podcaster and even longer suffering NY Jets fan.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>With a playoff berth on the line and their veteran starters struggling, the New York Mets embraced a midseason youth movement. The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/new-york-mets/mets-news-david-stearns-turned-3-young-star-pitchers-save-season">Mets turned to three rookie pitchers</a> to help save the season, calling up Nolan McLean, Jonah Tong and Brandon Sproat.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/new-york-mets/mets-news-jonah-tong-accomplishes-feat-that-hasnt-been-seen-in-90-years">Tong got off to an auspicious start</a>, winning his MLB debut with a strong performance. But the next two outings were less memorable. In his last start before Thursday’s game against the San Diego Padres, Tong squared off against two-time Cy Young winner Jacob deGrom and the Texas Rangers. He got shelled for six runs in 0.2 innings.</p><p>Fortunately, the 22-year-old righty has experienced pros like Sean Manaea to <a href="https://x.com/SNY_Mets/status/1968743348081926250" rel="noopener">help guide him</a>. When Tong was upset about his performance against Texas, Manaea calmly pointed to deGrom in the opposing dugout and offered reassurance. “He’s gone through that as well. Just keep doing what you’re doing,” Manaea said, per Steve Gelbs via SNY Mets.</p><h2><b>Jonah Tong bounces back with strong outing vs. Padres</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Jonah-Tong-2.jpg"><figcaption>Brad Penner-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>The veteran’s reality check seems to have made an impression. Tong bounced back with a big time start against the Padres on Thursday. The first-year hurler allowed just one unearned run on four hits and no walks while striking out eight in five innings of work. Tong improved to 2-2 on the season after the Mets’ 6-1 win over San Diego.</p><p>The trio of McLean, Tong and Sproat <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/new-york-mets/mets-news-jonah-tong-starts-off-historic-three-game-stretch">made franchise history</a> in September, becoming the first Mets pitchers to start three consecutive games despite each having four or fewer pro appearances at the time.</p><p>However, the results have been mixed. The rookie hurlers have pitched well for the most part. But New York has gone 6-5 in the 11 games the group has started. The team is now 7-5 after Tong’s effort against the Padres.</p><p>The Mets needed some sort of spark as the team was faltering despite a talented roster. Even with the young blood in the rotation, New York continued to struggle. The Mets entered Thursday’s game with a 5-10 record in September.</p><p>The team had lost eight straight games before snapping the skid earlier this week. But the Mets had lost nine of the last 11 matchups prior to beating San Diego.</p><p>Tong’s bounce-back performance is a great sign both short and long term for the team. While the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/philadelphia-phillies/phillies-news-punches-playoff-ticket-clinches-nl-east">Philadelphia Phillies already clinched the division</a>, the Mets are still clinging to the final Wild Card berth.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

How Sean Manaea helped Jonah Tong after disastrous Rangers start

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/new-york-mets/mets-news-jonah-tong-starts-off-historic-three-game-stretch');   ga('set', 'title', 'Jonah Tong starts off Mets’ historic three-game stretch');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Mets-news-Jonah-Tong-starts-off-NYs-historic-three-game-stretch.jpg"><figcaption>Frank Bowen IV-USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Jonah Tong starts off Mets’ historic three-game stretch</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-09-06T22:02:02-07:00">September 6th, 10:02pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-09-06T22:02:02-07:00">September 6th, 10:02pm</time><address><a>Richard Pereira</a>Richard Pereira joined ClutchPoints in January 2025 as an Associate Editor. He earned his degree from Florida Atlantic University in 2023 and has been covering the school's athletic programs since 2020, having served as a Sports Editor at the FAU University Press. He was granted the unique opportunity to report on the men's basketball team's journey to the Final Four in Houston for FAU Owls Nest during March Madness, consistently striving to grow as a sports journalist.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The New York Mets are making unique history from Saturday through Monday in their <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/cincinnati-reds/why-terry-francona-isnt-managing-reds-vs-mets">games against the Cincinnati Reds</a> and Philadelphia Phillies.</p><p>New York was coming off a 5-4 win over the Reds, beginning the three-game set. Going into Saturday’s contest, the team decided to declare their three starting pitchers for the next three days.</p><p>Jonah Tong had the mound on Saturday, Brandon Sproat will start on Sunday while Nolan McLean will headline the bullpen on Monday. This <a href="https://x.com/SlangsOnSports/status/1964494036057936200" rel="noopener">presents unique history for the franchise</a>, per MLB reporter Sarah Slangs.</p><p>“With Jonah Tong starting today and Brandon Sproat and Nolan McLean scheduled to start Sunday and Monday, this will be the first time in Mets history they start 3 straight pitchers, each entering having made 4 career MLB appearances or fewer,” Slangs wrote.</p><h2><b>How Jonah Tong, Mets played against Reds</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Mets-news-Jonah-Tong-starts-off-NYs-historic-three-game-stretch-2.jpg"><figcaption>Frank Bowen IV-USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Unfortunately for Jonah Tong, his start wouldn’t end with a win as the Mets lost 6-3 to the Reds on Saturday.</p><p>New York’s offense didn’t meet the moment throughout the matchup. They landed nine hits after 33 at-bats but were unable to make the big plays down the stretch to get momentum against Cincinnati.</p><p>The Mets’ bullpen had their issues against the Reds’ offense. They conceded six hits after 28 at-bats, including three home runs in the second, third and fourth innings. Tong lasted six innings on the mound, striking out six batters while allowing three hits and four runs.</p><p>New York fell to a 76-66 record on the season, holding the second spot of the NL East Division standings. They are seven games behind the Philadelphia Phillies for the top seed.</p><p>The Mets will look to bounce back in their series finale against the Reds, hoping to secure the tiebreaker. The contest will take place on Sept. 7 at 1:40 p.m. ET.</p><p>After that, they will begin their next series against the Phillies. They will remain on the road for that one as Game 1 will take place on Sept. 8 at 6:45 p.m. ET.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Jonah Tong starts off Mets’ historic three-game stretch

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/new-york-mets/mets-news-jonah-tong-accomplishes-feat-that-hasnt-been-seen-in-90-years');   ga('set', 'title', 'Mets’ Jonah Tong accomplishes feat that hasn’t been seen in 90 years');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Mets-SP-Jonah-Tong.jpg?w=1024"><figcaption>Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Mets’ Jonah Tong accomplishes feat that hasn’t been seen in 90 years</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-08-30T12:35:25-07:00">August 30th, 12:35pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-08-30T12:35:25-07:00">August 30th, 12:35pm</time><address><a href="https://linktr.ee/jordan.llanes">Jordan Llanes</a>Jordan Llanes is a sports writer and reporter based in Florida. In addition to ClutchPoints, he writes for a few other publications covering the NFL, college sports and Tottenham Hotspur. When he's not writing, Jordan enjoys spending time with his fiancée, cats, family and friends, as well as catching the latest TV shows and movies, and traveling.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Despite being five games behind the Philadelphia Phillies for the NL East lead, the New York <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/new-york-mets/mets-news-2-roster-moves-before-marlins-clash">Mets continue to push forward.</a> Fresh off two series wins, including a sweep of the Phillies at Citi Field, the Mets hosted another division rival in the Miami Marlins. Although New York lost the series opener Thursday, they rebounded strongly with a 19-9 win over the Marlins on Friday. Mets starting pitcher Jonah Tong earned the win in his major league debut, and X (formerly Twitter) account OptaSTATS <a href="https://x.com/OptaSTATS/status/1961624905029403073" rel="noopener">revealed just how rare</a> Tong’s debut was.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Jonah Tong of the <a href="https://twitter.com/Mets?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Mets</a> 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.</p><p>The other was Earl Huckleberry for the Philadelphia A's against the White Sox on September 13, 1935 (19-7 final score). <a href="https://t.co/qs3pvnEzkM">pic.twitter.com/qs3pvnEzkM</a></p><p>— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) <a href="https://twitter.com/OptaSTATS/status/1961624905029403073?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 30, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>“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,” posted the sports stats focused page. “The other was Earl Huckleberry for the Philadelphia A’s against the White Sox on September 13, 1935 (19-7 final score).”</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/new-york-mets/mets-news-calls-pitching-prospect-first-start-friday-marlins">Tong went five innings,</a> striking out six Marlins while allowing four runs on the night, although only one was earned. Even though the Mets’ defense hurt Tong just a bit in his debut, it was still an excellent showing from the 22-year-old. As he rose through New York’s minor league system, there were questions whether or not the right-hander would make it to the big leagues this season. Now, after his debut, the question is this: could Tong and fellow starter Nolan McLean, another recently promoted top prospect, be a part of the Mets’ postseason rotation?</p><h2><b>Mets seeing remarkable progression from young starters</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Mets-SP-Nolan-McLean_d4de77.jpg"><figcaption>Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>As the Mets look to make a return trip to the NL Championship Series, it’s clear that there’s still work to do. With the MLB trade deadline come and gone, the promotion of <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/new-york-mets/mets-news-nolan-mclean-randy-johnson-territory">top prospects like McLean</a> and Tong might be the best way to boost a veteran roster. At the moment, with the rookies in the rotation, it looks like New York is going with a six-man group. Although rare, it should help the Mets give their starters a lighter workload as they chase down a playoff spot.</p><p>While Tong wowed the baseball world on Friday, McLean has made a bigger impact to this point. The 24-year-old is 3-0 with a 0.89 ERA so far, with Wednesday night’s win over the Phillies his latest and best gem. It’s also possible that the highly regarded Brandon Sproat, the last of New York’s top pitching prospects at Triple-A, could see some time at Citi Field as well. Can the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/new-york-mets/mets-news-nolan-mclean-tom-seavers-record-phillies-beatdown">rookies help lift the Mets</a> past an NLCS hump and into the World Series?</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

2025 SEASON STATS
IP	ERA	K	WHIP	WINS
56	7.71	22	1.77	2

2025 SEASON STATS
IP	ERA	K	WHIP	WINS
56	7.71	22	1.77	2

Jonah Tong

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