Jonah Tong felt “good” out there on September 7th, even if his final line against the Marlins looked a little rough. His manager, Andy Green, agreed, saying Tong pitched “way better” than the four runs allowed would suggest. Tong himself was quick to admit he was being “nitpicky” about just one walk and a couple of pitches here and there, but he was happy because the team won.
Tong’s Gutsy Stand After A Tough Second
Green was “really pleased” with Tong’s outing, especially how he responded to a tough second inning. Picture this: the only hits Tong gave up all day were sequenced together, and then a home run bit pretty hard right after. Any pitcher could get rattled, right? But Green saw a “cutthroat competitor” in Tong, someone who would “go right back at them for the next three innings.” His catcher, Francisco Alvarez, backed him up on the home run pitch, calling it “a good pitch… on the black, away” that the hitter “just had a good swing on.” Alvarez singled out only the walk as an execution issue. Tong’s own growth is huge here; he mentioned feeling “shell-shocked by a lot of things” last year, but now his “feet are more set” and he’s “just trying to do [his] job.” That kind of mental toughness, especially when things go sideways, is exactly what you want to see late in the season.
Myers’ Hard Work Pays Off With Big League Return
Meanwhile, it’s been a tough year for some players, but Tobias Myers is back in the big leagues, and his manager Andy Green is “glad” he “worked hard” to make it happen. Myers acknowledged “time’s kind of flown” while he was down in AAA, a place where, as Syracuse Mets pitching Coach A.J. Sager pointed out, “some guys get a little bit lost” under pressure. Sager believes Myers was able to “take a breath” there. Myers definitely found his rhythm, saying the last couple of weeks have been “back to just being free. No thinking up there. Just pitch, and gradually I’ve gotten better and better.” That mental freedom is key for a pitcher trying to rediscover his stuff. Francisco Lindor summed up the winning mentality perfectly, too: “I was looking for a good pitch in the zone and he threw it there. Sometimes we win, sometimes we lose and today was my turn [to help us win].”
With Tong showing serious resilience and Myers finding his stuff again, these guys are proving they belong. You gotta love seeing that kind of fight as the season winds down. What kind of momentum can they build on for the next series? Let’s see them keep that intensity.
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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