NEW YORK — Jonah Tong allowed one earned run in five innings in his major league debut and the New York Mets hit six homers and set a franchise record for runs in a home game in a 19-9 victory over the Miami Marlins on Friday night.

Tong (1-0) received a standing ovation from the sellout crowd of 42,112 when he took the mound for a six-pitch first inning. The 22-year-old Canadian right-hander had a 5-0 lead when he returned for the second, and the Mets made it 12-0 in the bottom of the inning.

With an over-the-top delivery that has drawn comparisons to Tim Lincecum, Tong struck out six without a walk. He threw 63 of 97 pitches for strikes.

In the bottom of the first, Juan Soto hit a two-run homer and Brandon Nimmo had a three-run shot before an out was recorded.

Pete Alonso had a two-run homer in the second. Nimmo added a solo shot in the sixth before Mark Vientos went deep, and Luis Torrens slugged a three-run shot in a six-run eighth off infielder Javier Sanoja.

Tong allowed all four runs in the fifth following fielding errors by Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso. Lindor dropped a throw from second baseman Brett Baty on a force attempt, and Alonso misplayed a grounder by Jakob Marsee.

After allowing Lopez’s hit, Tong ended his outing by getting a called third strike on a 95 mph fastball against Liam Hicks.

The Mets won for the ninth time in 13 games.

BOSTON — Walker Buehler, who got the final out in the Los Angeles Dodgers‘ World Series victory last season and was expected to be a key member of the Boston rotation this year, was released on Friday after the Red Sox concluded he couldn’t help their playoff push from the bullpen.

Buehler, 31, has struggled since signing a $21.05 million contract with Boston, going 7-7 with a 5.45 ERA. He made 22 starts before he was demoted to the bullpen last week; in his only relief appearance since earning a save in Game 5 of the Series, he allowed two runs in 2⅓ innings of a loss to the New York Yankees on Sunday.

“It’s tough, but this is where we’re at,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said before Friday night’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates. “I know it didn’t go his way, or our way. He expected more, and we expected more. … I still think he has stuff in the tank.”

A two-time All Star and two-time World Series champion, Buehler is 54-29 in 144 starts over eight major league seasons. He struggled last year coming off a second Tommy John surgery but pitched perfect ninth in the Series clincher two days after pitching five shutout innings as the starter in Game 3.

Because the Red Sox released him rather than designating him for assignment, he is eligible to sign with any other team immediately.

“This is a guy who’s been a really good starting pitcher in this league for a long time,” Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow said. “He’s struggled to stay on the field with injuries, but we felt like he could give a boost to our rotation. When it became clear that there would be a better opportunity for him to contribute from the ‘pen, we made that move.”

To fill Buehler’s spot on the roster, the Red Sox called up top pitching prospect Payton Tolle who made his major league debut against Pirates ace Paul Skenes. Tolle had a one-hit shutout through five innings but was lifted after allowing back-to-back singles in the sixth in the Pirates 4-2 win.

“We have to make sure we are thinking about best-positioning this group to win as many games down the stretch here,” Breslow said.

A second-round pick out of TCU in the 2024 draft, Tolle had a 3-5 record and 3.04 ERA in 91⅔ innings at three levels in the minors, most recently at Triple-A Worcester.

Boston also recalled utility player Nick Sogard from Worcester and optioned outfielder Jhostynxon Garcia to Worcester.

Atlanta Braves left-hander Chris Sale returned from the 60-day injured list for a strong start Saturday against the Philadelphia Phillies.

Sale, a nine-time All-Star, struck out nine and gave up three hits in six innings. His only blemish came on Weston Wilson‘s solo homer in the third.

But Trea Turner hit a two-run single with two outs in the 10th inning to lift the Phillies to a 3-2 win over the Braves.

The reigning National League Cy Young winner, Sale had been out since suffering a fractured left rib cage in June when he dove to field a grounder. He had pitched 4⅔ innings in his third and most recent rehab start at Triple-A last week.

Sale’s return ended a stretch since late July in which all of the Braves’ Opening Day starters had been on the injured list. Atlanta has stumbled to a 61-75 record and is set to miss the playoffs for the first time since 2017.

Sale, 36, is 5-4 and has a 2.45 ERA in 15 starts this season. He won the pitching Triple Crown in his first season in Atlanta in 2024, finishing with an NL high in wins (18) and strikeouts (225) and a league-low ERA of 2.38.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.