The Mets’ rotation remains status quo — for now, at least.
There have been no discussions about removing rookie Jonah Tong following Friday night’s lopsided loss, while Kodai Senga is set to make a second start at Triple-A Syracuse as he works toward a return to form, manager Carlos Mendoza said Saturday.
Mendoza was noncommittal about Tong’s spot on Friday night after the 22-year-old surrendered six runs in ⅔ of an inning against the Texas Rangers in his third career start.
Asked again Saturday if Tong would remain in the rotation, Mendoza said, “Right now, he is.”
“We gotta get through the off day [on Monday],” Mendoza said. “We said we were going to get creative, but we haven’t had conversations about not having Jonah start a game. Again, it’s fluid, but as of right now, he is in the rotation.”
Tong, one of the Mets’ top prospects, is 1-2 with an 8.49 ERA since being called up late last month.
He led the minor leagues in ERA (1.43) and strikeouts (179) over 22 starts, but only two of those came at the Triple-A level.
Tong was visibly emotional during his postgame press conference on Friday night.
“He’ll move on,” Mendoza said. “He’ll learn. He’s already thinking about the next one. That gives me and all of us confidence.”
Mendoza said he spoke with Tong on Friday night and again on Saturday.
“It was pretty telling for me to see all the veterans, pretty much the whole team, supporting him last night,” Mendoza said. “It goes to show you that not only do we have really good players, but we’ve got really good people there that care about each other and have each other’s back.”
Senga, meanwhile, allowed one run over six innings with Triple-A Syracuse on Friday night, striking out eight without issuing a walk against the Worcester Red Sox. He threw 52 of his 74 pitches for strikes.
That was Senga’s first start since he was optioned to Triple-A a week earlier in an attempt to correct his extended struggles.
“He was very good,” Mendoza said. “When you look at the numbers, no walks, the strikeouts, the way he used all of his pitches. The main thing is he threw strikes, he attacked, and pretty much every pitch was working, so that’s a really good sign.”
Senga is 7-6 with a 3.02 ERA, but he went 0-3 with a 5.90 ERA and 24 walks in 39.2 innings over nine starts after returning in mid-July from a hamstring strain.
The right-hander is not eligible to return to the majors until Sept. 20.
“[We will] see how he responds [over] the next few days, continue to work on his mechanics, but the plan is for him to make another one,” Mendoza said.
ALUMNI CLASSIC
Saturday afternoon marked the first-ever Alumni Classic game, which pitted former Mets from two different eras against each other.
Matt Harvey, Johan Santana, Carlos Beltrán, José Reyes, Mike Piazza and Bartolo Colón were among those to appear in the game at Citi Field, which ended in a 2-2 tie after 2 ½ innings.
Kelly Johnson and Josh Satin had an RBI apiece for “Team Citi Field,” while Jay Payton delivered a run-scoring double and Reyes scored on a wild pitch for “Team Shea Stadium.”
Turk Wendell left with an apparent injury.
ROOKIE REVELATIONS
The future is bright for the Mets’ rookie starters.
That’s according to two men who know something about pitching — Santana and Pedro Martinez — who both said Saturday that they like what they see in Tong, Nolan McLean and Brandon Sproat.
“They’ve got great arms,” Santana said. “I think they’ve got great futures. I think it’s a matter of time for them to blend in, and then a few more games to get their feet wet the right way. It’s a great talent that they have, and I’m looking forward to it.”
McLean, Tong and Sproat were all ranked within the Mets’ top-five prospects before they joined the big-league rotation in rapid succession after the All-Star break.
Pitching in a pennant race now can serve them well, Martinez said.
“The good thing is if they happen to have success right now being rookies, by the second year, they [will] feel like they can be successful at a very early age,” Martinez said. “That’s what we want. We want to see the young players develop quickly.”
