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Try it freeA crowd that came to see Jonah Tong and Jacob deGrom waited too long to see the latter because they saw the former for far too long during a disastrous first inning.
Tong released the first pitch of Friday’s game at Citi Field at 7:11 p.m., when a fan base that has quickly fallen in love with the 22-year-old prospect began trying to motivate him with every pitch.
At 7:30 p.m., manager Carlos Mendoza made the dreaded walk to the mound to pull Tong, who heard plenty of dissatisfaction and some light boos on the way to the dugout.
The righty’s third career start was a nightmare in which he allowed six runs, recorded two outs and threw 40 pitches before Huascar Brazobán had to be summoned.
He could not find the strike zone in walking Josh Smith and Joc Pederson, sandwiched around a Wyatt Langford strikeout. Jake Burger’s fly out moved Tong one out away from an escape that he could not pull off, with the next five batters reaching safely.
Josh Jung’s single to right scored one. Alejandro Osuna’s single scored another. Jonah Heim walked on five pitches to load the bases for Cody Freeman, whose single to right scored two more. Michael Helman then turned on an inside fastball and placed it down the left field line for a double that scored runs five and six.
The Mets, losers of six straight in the midst of a playoff chase, had dug a significant ditch immediately.