NEW YORK (AP) — Jonah Tong walked in from the bullpen to a loud ovation and took the mound to another boisterous reaction from the sellout crowd.
Tong threw six pitches in three minutes and then sat for about 25 minutes. The 22-year-old Canadian threw 20 more in the second inning and his break lasted slightly longer.
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New York Mets' Jonah Tong (21) walks out of the dugout before a baseball game against the Miami Marlins, Friday, Aug. 29, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)
New York Mets' Jonah Tong, left, is doused with water after defeating the Miami Marlins during a baseball game Friday, Aug. 29, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)
New York Mets pitcher Jonah Tong throws during the second inning of a baseball game against the Miami Marlins, Friday, Aug. 29, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)
New York Mets pitcher Jonah Tong reacts after striking out Miami Marlins' Liam Hicks during the fifth inning of a baseball game Friday, Aug. 29, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)
New York Mets pitcher Jonah Tong throws during the second inning of a baseball game against the Miami Marlins, Friday, Aug. 29, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)
In his anticipated debut, Tong completed his first five innings as a major leaguer on a Friday night when the Mets set a team record for runs in a home game and earned another start in New York’s six-man rotation in the midst of a playoff race.
“Insane, that’s everything I’ve ever dreamed of as a kid growing up,” Tong said. ”
The Mets hit two of their six homers in a five-run first inning, added another in a 28-minute seven-run second when they sent 11 to the plate en route to a 19-9 victory over the Marlins.
“He was very good,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “It was kind of a like a weird game.”
Tong got three outs in the air in the first, then Juan Soto hit a two-run homer and Brandon Nimmo belted a three-run drive in the bottom of the inning.
“I’m never going to complain about run support and that was insane but I just made pitches on my part,” Tong said.
With the sellout crowd of 42,112 fans seemingly willing him to the finish, he got a called third strike on Liam Hicks with a 95 mph fastball.
“I couldn’t really feel my feet, but everything I ever dreamed of,” Tong said.
Tong got six strikeouts with a drastic over-the-top delivery. He threw 97 pitches and showcased 59 fastballs that averaged 95.4 mph.
The memorable debut occurred with his parents, grandfather, aunt, uncle and agent and girlfriend in the crowd along with his first professional pitching coach Garrett Baker.
Tong was 8-5 with a 1.59 ERA and 162 strikeouts against 44 walks in 20 starts spanning 102 innings at Double-A Binghamton. He was promoted to Triple-A Syracuse on Aug. 11 and was 2-0 with 17 strikeouts and three walks in 11 2/3 scoreless innings.
New York Mets' Jonah Tong (21) walks out of the dugout before a baseball game against the Miami Marlins, Friday, Aug. 29, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)
New York Mets' Jonah Tong, left, is doused with water after defeating the Miami Marlins during a baseball game Friday, Aug. 29, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)
New York Mets pitcher Jonah Tong throws during the second inning of a baseball game against the Miami Marlins, Friday, Aug. 29, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)
New York Mets pitcher Jonah Tong reacts after striking out Miami Marlins' Liam Hicks during the fifth inning of a baseball game Friday, Aug. 29, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)
New York Mets pitcher Jonah Tong throws during the second inning of a baseball game against the Miami Marlins, Friday, Aug. 29, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)
Iran said Monday it had a two-day plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and resume nuclear talks with the United States, shortening a process originally expected to take seven days.
The U.N. migration agency said more than 300,000 people in Yemen had fled renewed fighting. China, meanwhile, is sending a special envoy to Iran, Saudi Arabia and Oman.
Here is the latest news from the Middle East on Monday. Read our full coverage here.
Iran said it had a two-day plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and resume nuclear talks with the U.S. if Washington meets its demands.
The announcement came as the region braces for possible renewed fighting, even as Iran’s top diplomat said Sunday that he hoped the U.S. would choose “diplomacy over other paths.”
Iran previously said the plan could be implemented within a week if the U.S. met seven conditions, including lifting its blockade of Iranian ports. Iran now says ships passing through the reopened strait would have to follow a route agreed upon by Iran and Oman and travel under Iranian supervision. Separately, Iranian officials have said the U.S. must lift sanctions on Iranian oil sales and agree to a ceasefire that would include Lebanon.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said the plan remained the basis for negotiations with Washington through mediators, despite the shorter implementation timeline. “This once again demonstrates Iran’s good-faith approach,” he added.
Baghaei gave no indication that Tehran had changed its demands or that Washington had accepted its proposal.
President Donald Trump has alternated between pursuing diplomacy and threatening heavy bombing of Iran in his public comments.
The U.N. migration agency said the people are struggling to find shelter and life essentials, as aid groups face limited access to those in need.
They have fled as renewed fighting between Iran-backed Houthi rebels and the Saudi-backed government forces broke a four-year truce, exacerbating an already dire humanitarian situation in one of the Middle East's poorest countries.
Taiz province, in southwestern Yemen, continues to take in displaced families, but many are fleeing south to Aden, which has now received more than 56,000 people, according to the latest figures by the International Organization for Migration.
“After years of conflict, families in Yemen are being forced to flee yet again, often with little more than the clothes on their backs,” Abdusattor Esoev, head of the IOM's mission in Yemen, said Sunday.
“They urgently need shelter, food, clean water and health care. Without more funding, thousands of families could be left without the help they urgently need,” he added.
China said Monday it plans to send a special envoy to Iran, Oman and Saudi Arabia in early to mid-November. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told reporters the envoy would focus on easing tensions and promoting regional stability.
The Gulf region “should not become an arena for great-power rivalry and geopolitical conflict,” Chinese President Xi Jinping told Oman’s Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said on Monday, according to a readout of their meeting.
The move comes as China seeks to expand its influence in the rapidly changing region, which it depends on for a large share of its oil.
Two Israeli airstrikes killed two men in southern Gaza early Monday, according to Nasser Hospital, where their bodies were taken. One strike killed a man in his home; the other killed a man in a tent.
The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Major fighting between Israel and Hamas largely halted under the October 2025 ceasefire. Israel continues to launch near-daily strikes on Gaza that it says target militants, though the strikes regularly kill or injure women and children. Israel says Hamas uses civilians as human shields.
About 1,580 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire began, bringing the overall death toll to more than 74,500, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The ministry, part of the Hamas-run government, does not distinguish between civilians and militants.
This report will be updated throughout the day as new developments emerge.
A bird flies low over the water as cargo ships lie at anchor in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, early Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026. (Amirhosein Khorgooi/ISNA via AP)
