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Friday's Leftovers

"There's never a better feeling than to get a game-winning hit and be able to round the bases and see those guys walking off while our team is running on. No better feeling."

-- David Wright to media, sometime after midnight on what was technically, May 6, 2006.

While you're contemplating whether the Victor Zambrano injury is a devastating loss or a blessing in disguise, ponder these tidbits as well.

* Friday's 14-inning win over the Braves was only the second in which a Mets player had 5 hits and the team had a walk-off win. The only other such occurrence took place in an 11-inning win over the Phillies on September 20, 1975. Rusty Staub went 5-for-6 and the Mets won 9-7 on a 2-run home run by Ron Hodges.

* This was the 27th Mets walk-off win lasting at least 14 innings. The last Mets walk-off win in a game lasting at least 14 innings was Game 5 of the 1999 NLCS. The last regular season game was a 4-3, 14 inning win over the Blue Jays on June 9, 1999, in which the Mets won on a base hit by Rey Ordonez.

* This was the third-longest walk-off win over the Braves, in terms of innings. The previously mentioned Game 5 of the 1999 NLCS ranks second. The longest is a 6-4, 16 inning triumph on September 1, 1963. Tim Harkness had the game-winning hit, a two-run home run.

*It was the 9th walk-off win with a final score of 8-7 and the first since June 8, 2000 (Kurt Abbott HR). Amazingly, four of those 8-7 wins came against the Braves. This was the longest 8-7 walk-off win, surpassing the 12-inning such victory over the Dodgers on August 1, 1977.

* Jorge Sosa is the second Sosa to be a losing pitcher in a Mets walk-off win. Elias Sosa, with two such losses, is the other.

* It was the 26th walk-off double in Mets history (though one gets an *, since it came in conjunction with an E8). The last was by Kaz Matsui against the Brewers on May 9, 2004. It was the 17th tie-snapping walk-off double (i.e. the score was even when it took place). Checking ground rule doubles is going to take me awhile, so don't necessarily expect an answer on when the last one was any time soon.

True Methropologists know...The 3 walk-offs in a 5-day span is the most since since the Mets had 3 in 5 days from September 17-21, 2002. Did you know? The Mets first four walk-offs in team history came within a 5-day span (May 12-16, 1962), aided by the inclusion of a doubleheader.

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