Jonah Tong officially earned his first big league win of 2026 for the Mets, but anyone watching that 9-4 series opener against the Marlins knows who the real MVP was: Miami’s utterly baffling defense. The Mets jumped all over the Marlins at loanDepot Park, mostly because Miami’s glove work was, well, rough.
The First Inning Meltdown That Set The Tone
You know a game is gonna be wild when the opposing team basically hands you runs right from the jump. The Mets wasted no time taking advantage. After Juan Soto ripped a single up the middle that nearly took Eury Pérez’s head off, Bo Bichette hit a grounder to second. Javier Sanoja, instead of taking the easy out at first, tried to go for Soto at second. Big mistake. His throw sailed wildly into left field and bounced into foul territory, letting Soto jog home all the way from second and Bichette cruise to second base. Pérez then walked Carson Benge, and after Marcus Semien flied out, Benge stole second. Here’s where it got worse. Catcher Joe Mack then launched his throw into center field, allowing Bichette to score. Just like that, two runs from two errant throws. Pérez did manage to limit the damage to just those two runs by getting A.J. Ewing to ground out, but the tone was set, and it wasn’t good for Miami.
Tong’s Rollercoaster Debut and The Mets’ Relentless Offense
After getting that gifted lead, Jonah Tong looked sharp, striking out the side in the bottom of the first. The Mets offense kept pouring it on, scoring in five of the first six innings. In the second, Brett Baty smoked a double, and Nick Morabito laced a single to score him, making it 3-0. They even loaded the bases on walks to Soto and Bichette, though Pérez dug deep to limit further damage. But then Tong hit a snag in the bottom of the second. He started strong with his fourth straight strikeout against Otto López, which is no easy feat. However, things quickly unraveled. Jakob Marsee got Miami’s first hit with a single, then Sanoja, trying to make up for his earlier blunder, tripled to plate Miami’s first run. Tong walked Owen Caissie, and then Grant Pauley socked a three-run homer, suddenly putting the Marlins ahead. Tong stopped the bleeding there, retiring the next two batters, but the early lead was gone.
Don’t worry, Mets fans, that Marlins lead was about as sturdy as a house of cards in a hurricane. New York tied the game in the third, then took the lead for good in the fourth, never looking back. Marcus Semien led off the third with a double, and the Mets kept feasting on Miami’s defensive lapses, including when A.J. Ewing hit a grounder between first and second that Griffin Conine made… well, the article cuts off there, but we can assume it wasn’t pretty given the trend. This win for Tong, shaky as parts of it were, really highlighted how a team can just fall apart defensively. The Mets will definitely be looking to keep that momentum going, while the Marlins have some serious soul-searching to do with their gloves if they want to turn things around in this series.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Amazin’ Avenue.
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