Whale of a rebound by Jonah as Mets stay above water with series victory

Mets 6 Padres 1 (Citi Field, Flushing, NY)

Mets record: 79-74

Mets streak: Won 1

Last 10: 3-7

WP - Jonah Tong (2-2)

LP - Randy Vasquez (5-7)

Seat on the Korner: Jonah Tong

We select the star of the game and virtually invite him to a Seat on the Korner, just as Ralph Kiner used to do for his studio postgame show on WOR-channel 9 broadcasts in the early decades of the Mets.

Were you worried about Jonah Tong? Did you think there was a chance he might have a difficult time overcoming his last outing, when he gave up six runs to the Texas Rangers while failing to get out of the first inning? That maybe he wasn't ready for prime time? If so, Tong took a solid step toward allaying those fears by giving up just one unearned run over five innings in the Mets' 6-1 victory over the Padres in the rubber game of the series that earned him a post-game seat next to Ralph. Tong was visibly shaken after this third career start against Texas a week ago, when he was able to get just two outs and left after 50 pitches. With the Mets in can't-lose mode, how he followed that up would be crucial. Would he get another start if he failed? The 22-year-old right-hander got a break in the first inning when, with one out and one on, Manny Machado slammed one off the left-field wall, only to be cut down trying for second on a Brandon Nimmo-to-Francisco Lindor-to-Jeff McNeil relay. Tong ended the inning with a strikeout of Jackson Merrill and was on his way. He retired the last seven batters he faced while recording four of his eight strikeouts. He didn't walk a batter. And the only run he gave up came due to his own wild pick-off throw and wild pitch. He looked overpowering at times, throwing 66% four-seem fastballs, with some breaking stuff mixed in.

Need to Know

• The victory assured the Mets of remaining in the third Wild Card spot in the National League, two games up in the loss column on the Diamondbacks, Reds and Giants. Arizona had the day off, but Cincinnati and San Francisco were scheduled to play night games.

• Mets reliever Reed Garrett returned to the Injured List and will miss the rest of the season with elbow soreness. He is scheduled to receive an MRI. Surgery is a possibility.

• Juan Soto reached 100 RBI with his run-scoring ground out in the third inning.

• The Mets added a final insurance run in the seventh inning. Francisco Lindor took third on a hit to right by Juan Soto and then scored on a sacrifice fly to right by Pete Alonso, giving Pete 121 RBI for the season.

• The Nationals come to Citi Field for the Mets' final homestand of the season. Brandon Sproat (0-1, 2.25 ERA) will pitch the opener for the Mets, while Washington hadn't yet named its starter. Nolan McLean (4-1, 1.19) will start for the Mets in Game 2, while no starter has been named for Sunday.

  
  

Turning Point

With the Mets just having gone ahead 2-1 on Juan Soto's RBI grounder, Pete Alonso walked to put runners at the corners for Brandon Nimmo. Padres starter Randy Vasquez was yanked at that point in favor of left-hander Wandy Peralta, but the left-on-left strategy failed. Nimmo slugged a no-doubter into the San Diego bullpen for a three-run homer — his 24th round-tripper of the season — to give Tong and the Mets a 5-1 cushion that sent them on their way to victory.

Three Keys

Pete goes long

Pete Alonso gave the Mets the early 1-0 lead with his 37th home run of the season — and fourth dinger in as many games. This one was a bomb, estimated at 445 feet, the farthest a home run has traveled at Citi Field this season. There was still a long way to go, but Alonso's blast was an indication that the Mets offense wasn't planning to take an afternoon nap.

Pen's not leaky

Carlos Mendoza went to his bullpen after five innings and his relievers did their jobs. Tyler Rogers, Brooks Raley, Gregory Soto and Edwin Diaz blanked the Padres the rest of the way on just two infield hits and no walks. In nailing it down, Diaz recorded the only two strikeouts and the celebration was on.

Manny being Manny

Jonah Tong was one strike away from getting out of his nightmarish first inning a week ago, and one couldn't help fear a repeat of that when, with one out and one on, Manny Machado smacked a fly ball over Brandon Nimmo's head in left. But before any such worries set in, Machado was cut down at second. Nimmo played the ball off the wall and fired to Francisco Lindor, who wheeled and gunned a strike to Jeff McNeil in time to nail Machado. Tong's strikeout of Jackson Merrill ended the inning.