WASHINGTON — Jonah Tong’s latest Mets audition concluded Saturday with the kind of performance he can appreciate headed to the offseason.
The rookie right-hander surrendered one earned run over five innings with a career-high nine strikeouts in the Mets’ 7-1 victory over the Nationals, his second of four starts since his Sept. 7 recall in which he allowed only one earned run.
“It’s just a cool way to end the year,” Tong said.
Now comes another winter of wondering if Tong is ready. The 23-year-old had two stints with the Mets this season, pitching to a 3.82 ERA in seven appearances. Last season, Tong pitched to a 7.71 ERA in five starts for the team.
He belongs to a homegrown mix of starting pitchers that includes Nolan McLean, Christian Scott and Zac Thornton. That trio is well-positioned for slots in next year’s starting rotation.
Before Tong’s latest outing, in which he allowed only three hits and one walk, manager Andy Green offered something of a hint that Tong will likely begin next season at Triple-A Syracuse.
“I think we have been forthright with him in like, ‘What does an organization desperately need to win a World Series?’ ” Green said. “You need guys that are sixth and seventh starters that start the year in Triple-A that can come up and dominate. You don’t win a World Series with only five starters.
“As an organization, you go out, you try to expand the group of starters you have, which pushes down people that feel like they’ve earned it. And in that case, his desires don’t perfectly align with what our desires would be because he wants to be here. So his job is to make it so freaking obvious to us that he deserves to be here that we can’t make those type of decisions when he competes in spring training.”
In addition, the Mets have Sean Manaea and Kodai Senga under contract for next season and Tylor Megill will be returning from Tommy John surgery. The Mets could also look to add a rotation piece over the winter. Senga, who spent much of the season in the bullpen, could be considered for a relief role next year.
“Long term, I am a huge believer in Jonah,” Green said. “The context doesn’t always align for the player and what they want at that given point in time. But he’s going to be huge for us going forward.”
How does Tong view the opportunity?
“That is one of those things that I think the moment’s just going to let you know,” he said. “I’m not going to put pressure on myself for that. I’m just going to go out there and be myself. But I’m all involved for the challenge, and I know where I’m at. I know what I need to do, and I think that’s the beauty of this offseason.”
Ronny Mauricio led the Mets’ offensive attack with two homers (one from each side of the plate) and three RBIs. A.J. Ewing delivered a three-run homer.
Tong rebounded from a start against the Phillies in which he allowed four earned runs over 4 ²/₃ innings with five hits allowed and four walks.
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“I think he’s proving that he didn’t get many starts up here, but when you look at the full body of work up here, it was really good,” Green said. “Even the outing that got a little bit sideways last time, there was resilience to that outing, there was fight to it, and I think his stuff has looked really, really good.”
