Jonah Tong was 80% splendid Monday afternoon in Miami, throwing four sterling innings that weren’t undone by the lone dreadful frame that interrupted their flow. The order in which Tong’s five were delivered was, in fact, the best part. He wasn’t good in the second inning (allowing a single, a triple, a walk, a three-run homer), but he survived, and you know what they say about that which doesn’t kill you making you stronger. Jonah recovered from giving up four runs quickly. What’s more, he was supported lavishly. By the time Tong departed his big league first start since last September, the Mets led, 7-4. That’s not necessarily a sure thing of a score, but the Marlins were done crossing the plate.
The Mets weren’t. They went up, 9-4, with everybody in the lineup doing at least a little hitting and the bullpen allowing nothing in particular. Marlin fielding (a pair of errors) helped Met matters. Marlin baserunning, too, topped off by Austin Warren picking off Javier Sanoja and first baseman Brett Baty putting down the coup de grâs of a tag for the game’s final out.
Kooz got a trophy after finishing second. Mets won’t get one if they finish fourth, but they should go for it, anyway.
Having won their Labor Day matinee by five, the Mets rose to 19-12 since the trade deadline. I see 19-12 and I see Jerry Koosman’s 1968 record. Had Johnny Bench not been such auspicious hot stuff himself that season, 19-12 would have earned Kooz Rookie of the Year honors. As was, Jerry finished a smidge behind Johnny in the National League’s freshman balloting. The 19-12 the 2026 Mets have compiled dating to August 4 has them, pending Monday night’s hotly anticipated Nationals-Padres action, a half-game out of fourth place. The BBWAA doesn’t give out awards for not finishing last, but considering where this team was for months on end, I’d take next-to-last and call it the Nobel Prize for baseball resilience.
