Overview

• Making his fourth MLB start, the 22-year-old right-hander worked five innings with one unearned run, no walks and eight strikeouts to beat the Padres.
• The 6-1 victory put New York two games ahead of the idle Diamondbacks for the NL’s final wild card with nine regular-season games remaining.
• Tong became the first Mets pitcher age 22 or younger to record at least eight strikeouts in a game since Noah Syndergaard in 2015.
• Pete Alonso homered for a fourth straight game, Brandon Nimmo hit a three-run shot, and Juan Soto logged his 100th RBI to secure the series.
• New York continues to lean on rookies Jonah Tong, Nolan McLean and Brandon Sproat while limiting workloads, with team leaders praising the group’s resilience and development.