After Jonah Tong’s start against the Rangers last week, he stood in front of SNY cameras, struggling not to cry.

“It’s just life,” said Tong, who’s only experienced 22 years of it, and had just been shelled for six runs in two-thirds of an inning. “I’m always grateful to be doing this.”

That’s what everyone saw: The kid rushed to the majors after just two Triple-A starts, devastated he couldn’t hoist a burden that shouldn’t have been his to begin with.

But there’s what happens, and then there’s what happens next.

He met with Mets' vice president of player development Andy Green “and [Tong] immediately went right back to [a bad outing last year against Single-A] Jersey Shore,” Green said Wednesday. “He got one out and didn’t get out of the first inning, and he bounced back and had an

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