Skip to main content

Dodging Bullets

It is possible not to hit with runners in scoring position and win. It just doesn't happen very often.

That's why the win of September 9, 1985, in the finale of an exhilerating three-game series in Los Angeles (first game: Gooden-Valenzuela showdown; second game: Dodgers walk-off win) is one to treasure.

The Mets and Dodgers played 14 innings that day. It was a long enough game that the Mets got 20 at-bats with runners in scoring position. You know how many hits they got?

One.

The Mets failed on their first nine and last 10 opportunities with runners on second and/or third base. The hit was a Keith Hernandez single off Orel Hershiser with two outs in the eighth that scored Mookie Wilson, and put the Mets up 3-1.

Mike Marshall tied the game with a two-run, 44o-foot (by newspaper accounts) home run off Jesse Orosco in the bottom of the eighth, depriving Sid Fernandez of a decision in a finely-tossed effort (7 IP, 1 R, 3 H).

If the recent offensive output of the current squad is enough to make you ill, those of this particular day aren't well-suited to the stomach.

The Mets stranded Lenny Dykstra on second base in the 9th.
The Mets stranded Wally Backman on second base in the 10th.
The Mets stranded Darryl Strawberry on third base in the 11th.
The Mets stranded Mookie Wilson on second base in the 12th.
The Mets stranded Lenny Dykstra on second base in the 13th.

By the 14th, it was evident that the only way this game was going to end was if someone could poke the ball out of the ballpark and end the batting misery.

Mookie Wilson, he of only three home runs that season and sidelined for chunks of the season due to shoulder issues, wasn't the most ideal person to do that (This was Wilson's first start since June 28). but when Dodgers reliever Carlos Diaz hung a changeup, Wilson delivered, with a home run to left field. The Mets led 4-3, and just for good measure, they stranded Keith Hernandez on second base to end the inning.

Doug Sisk closed out the Dodgers with a 1-2-3 14th inning, a feat as rare as a hit with a runner in scoring position, and after nearly five hours the Mets had a victory that left them within 1/2 a game of first place.

The Mets fan who can hit with runners in scoring position knows...The Mets have 8 extra-inning wins in Dodger Stadium, with this one being the second-lengthiest. On May 24, 1973, they beat the Dodgers 7-3 in 19 innings.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Best Games I Know: Phillies (Updated)

  The best wins against the Phillies in Mets history …   May 5, 2022 – Mets 8, Phillies 7 The Mets score 7 runs in the 9 th inning to overcome a 7-1 deficit and win in Philadelphia.   April 29, 2022 – Mets 3, Phillies 0 Tylor Megill and 4 Mets relievers combine on the second no-hitter in franchise history.   September 22, 2016 – Mets 9, Phillies 8 (11) The Mets tie it in the 9 th on a Jose Reyes home run and win it in the 11 th on a 3-run home run by Asdrubal Cabrera.   July 17, 2016 - Mets 5, Phillies 0 Jacob deGrom pitches a one-hitter. Only hit is a single by Zach Eflin in the 5 th inning.   August 24, 2015 – Mets 16, Phillies 7 David Wright homers in his first at-bat in more than 4 months. The Mets hit a team-record 8 home runs.   July 5, 2012 – Mets 6, Phillies 5 The Mets score 2 runs with 2 outs in the bottom of the 9 th to beat Jonathan Papelbon. The winning run scores on David Wright’s bloop down the right field line.   August 13

The best Mets ejections I know

When you think of the Mets and famous ejections, I'm guessing you first think of the famous Bobby Valentine mustache game, when after Valentine got tossed, he returned to the dugout in disguise. You know it. You love it. I remember being amused when I asked Bobby V about it while we were working on Baseball Tonight, how he simply said "It worked. We won the game." (true) But the Bobby V mustache game of June 9, 1999 is one of many, many memorable Mets ejection stories. And now thanks to Retrosheet and the magic of Newspapers.com , we have a convenient means for being able to share them. Ever since Retrosheet's David Smith recently announced that the Retrosheet ejection database was posted online , I've been a kid in a candy store. I've organized the data and done some lookups of media coverage around the games that interested me post. Those newspaper accounts fill in a lot of blanks. Without further ado (and with more work to do), here are some of my findings

Trip(le) Through Time

In their illustrious history, the Mets have had one 'Triple Crown Winner,' so to speak and I'm not talking about the typical meaning of the term. I've gotten some queries recently as to whether a walk-off triple is even possible and I'm here to tell you that it is. There has been one, and only one, in Mets history, though I don't have the full explanation of circumstances that I would like. It took place against the Phillies on September 10, 1970. This was a marathon game that would have fit in perfectly with those having taken place so far this season and allowed the Mets to maintain a temporary hold on first place in an NL East race oft forgotten in team history. It went 14 innings, with a tinge of controversy in a negated Ken Boswell home run, a thrilling play by Bud Harrelson, who stole home in the third inning, and some stellar relief pitching, in the form of five scoreless innings from Danny Frisella, aided by Tim McCarver getting thrown out in a rundown b