This was about six weeks ago, when Jonah Tong was merely an unhittable pitcher with Double-A Binghamton who would not allow himself to think about a promotion even to Triple-A Syracuse.
Teammate and fellow top prospect Jett Williams considered what life is like patrolling the infield or outfield behind Tong and smiled.
“Not a lot of defense,” Williams said. “It’s nice being able to just chill.”
The varsity Mets already had met the wide-eyed, smiling and bubbly personality. On Thursday, they met the unforgiving and electric arm that their minor leaguers know well.
It took four starts, but Tong arrived Thursday — and just in time for a team that is attempting to crack into the postseason and holding auditions for starting pitchers along the way.
He battled through a strong Padres order over five impressive innings in which he struck out eight in a 6-1, momentum-grabbing victory in front of 38,127 sun-drenched fans at Citi Field.
The Mets (79-74) seized their first series since taking two of three in Detroit at the start of the month and moved two games ahead of the idle Diamondbacks for the final wild-card spot.
“Every one we can get is huge,” said Brandon Nimmo, whose Mets have straightened out after a miserable and season-threatening, eight-game nosedive. “This is playoff baseball for us, and that’s a playoff team.”
They got this one because Pete Alonso, who might be playing in his final homestand with the club, has homered in four games straight, his latest a first-inning blast.
They did so because of a third-inning breakthrough in which the club sent eight batters to the plate and could exhale when Nimmo turned on a 1-2 changeup from ex-Yankee Wandy Peralta and clobbered it for a three-run homer.
They did so because Tyler Rogers, Brooks Raley, Gregory Soto and Edwin Díaz combined for four scoreless innings.
They did so because they met the other Tong.
“That’s kind of like the guy we saw at the minor league level pretty much the whole year,” manager Carlos Mendoza said of Tong, who struck out 14.17 per nine innings at Double- and Triple-A but might not have received a fourth big-league chance.
In his last turn, Tong did not survive the first inning against the Rangers, after which he was emotional and after which there were doubts whether he would remain in the rotation.
Tong thought back to June 1 of last year, when he recorded one out and allowed five runs with High-A Brooklyn, and demonstrated not just top-notch stuff but encouraging fortitude.
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“It just takes a day to let it flush,” said Tong, who is again in the conversation for October innings after allowing just one unearned run and becoming the first Mets pitcher 22 or younger to strike out at least eight hitters in a game since Noah Syndergaard in 2015.
Relying less on a changeup that has not induced much chase and more on a heater that he loves, the kid from Canada walked none and allowed just four hits in five innings and 82 pitches.
There were bumps early — he received an assist from a relay play in which Nimmo and Francisco Lindor threw out Manny Machado at second in the first inning, and he allowed a run in the third on a single, error, wild pitch and a shallow sacrifice fly in which Nimmo could not get any air on a throw to the plate — but he got stronger as the game got longer.
He retired the last eight batters he faced. In the fourth and fifth, Ramón Laureano, Gavin Sheets, Ryan O’Hearn and Jake Cronenworth were struck out consecutively, all swinging through fastballs.
The Padres swung 27 times at the offering, which touched 97.3 mph but is better known for its appearance of rise, and missed nine times.
“We’re talking about a kid who’s still 22 years old,” Alonso said. “Obviously, he’s got sky-high potential. You’re seeing him kind of develop into a big league professional right in front of your eyes.”
Tong shrugged off the adjustments from start three to four and simply said, “Threw a lot more strikes.” He threw a lot more fastballs, which often do not need to be pinpointed to be effective.
He pounded the top of the zone with four-seamers that induced several pop-ups, too.
With the help of veterans whose counsel he thanked, he bounced back.
With the help of another kid with an intriguing arm, the Mets may be bouncing back.