Tom Seaver Fan Club

August 31, 1986 at Shea Stadium

Dodgers 7, Mets 4  (87-42)

It seemed like the Mets would just keep on winning, but their excellent streak finally came to an end.  Ron Darling was tagged for seven runs on nine hits as he dropped to 12-5.

Ed Hearn hit his fourth homerun and scored twice.  Keith Hernandez went two for four with an RBI and Rafael Santana had two singles.

August 30, 1986 at Shea Stadium

Mets 6, Dodgers 3  (87-42)

The Mets won for the eleventh time in twelve games by getting to Orel Hershiser early.  By the end of the fourth inning, Hershiser was in the dugout and the Mets had five runs, more then enough to win the game.

Howard Johnson scored two runs and Keith Hernandez and Lenny Dykstra both had two hits.  Rick Aguilera pitched eight quality innings and improved to 7-6.  Roger McDowell pitched a perfect ninth frame to earn his eighteenth save of the season.

August 29, 1986 at Shea Stadium

Mets 2, Dodgers 1  (86-42)

The Mets continued their hot streak with a tight win over the Dodgers.  It was their tenth win in eleven games.

Keith Hernandez singled home Mookie Wilson in the first inning, then Wilson drove home Rafael Santana with a single in the seventh inning.  In the meantime, Bob Ojeda was mowing down Dodgers left, right and center.  Going into the ninth, he had a four hit shutout but an error by Ray Knight in the ninth led to an unearned run.  He improved to 15-4 on the season and struck out seven batters.

If it weren’t for Ryan Howard, the Mets would probably have the NL East wrapped up by now.  He’d look awfully nice in a Mets uniform once Carlos Delgado moves on.

The Mets have now won nine of their last ten, they have an eleven game lead over the Cardinals for the best record in the National League and the only question now is who the Mets first round opponent will be.  What a difference a year makes.  At this point last year, I was writing off the Mets.

Carlos Beltran homered and drove in three runs on Friday, but he was our offense in the 4-3 loss.  Brian Bannister looked okay in his first major league start since April but he lost his first career start. 

Saturday, the Mets turned it on.  Carlos Beltran hit his 38th homerun of the season and Carlos Delgado hit his 33rd.  Endy Chavez finished four for four with two RBIs and Oliver made his first start as a Met.  He wasn’t good, but he wasn’t absolutely horrible.  Pedro Feliciano picked up the win though and he’s now 6-2.

The Mets wrapped up the series this afternoon.  A six run third set the tone and the final was 8-3.  Delgado, David Wright and Paul LoDuca all drove in two runs and Jose Reyes and Beltran scored twice.  John Maine improved to 4-3 with 6 1/3 solid innings and the pen did their job.

Next up is three against the Rockies.  I hate seeing the Mets play in Denver.  I just don’t like the bandbox.

August 27, 1986 at Jack Murphy Stadium

Mets 6, Padres 5  (85-42)

It took eleven innings, but the Mets won the ninth time in ten games.  The Mets jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead after three innings of work and that lead stood until the the Padres scored a lone run in the bottom of the sixth.  Then in the bottom of the eighth, the Padres exploded for four runs to tie the game up and send it into extra frames.

Neither team threatened in the tenth inning, but in the top of the eleventh, Howard Johnson led off with a fly out.  Len Dykstra and Wally Backman hit back to back singles, then Keith Hernandez drove home Dykstra on a sac. fly to give the Mets the run they needed.

Six different Mets had multi-hit games.  Darryl Strawberry drove in four runs and hit his nineteenth homerun of the season.  On the pitching side, Doug sisk improved to 3-2 by holding the Padres scoreless in the final two innings.

August 26, 1986 at Jack Murphy Stadium

Mets 11, Padres 6  (84-42)

The Mets won for the eighth time in nine games by pummelling the Giants pitching staff.  In all, they put eleven runs on the board and they did it with 21 hits.

Hitting stars were everywhere.  Tim Teufel went four for six with a homerun, three RBIs and two runs.  Ray Knight had four hits and three RBIs and Rafael Santana hit his first homerun of the season.  All nine Mets starters had hits and eight different Mets scored.

Sid Fernandez didn’t have a pretty start, but he got the win.  He improved to 15-4 on the season and gave up six runs on twelve hits in seven innings of work.

August 25, 1986 at Jack Murphy Stadium

Mets 5, Padres 2  (83-42)

The Mets got back to winning with a late inning surge to put the game away.  With the game at 2-2 heading into the eighth, the Mets jumped all over the Padres’ bullpen to put the game away.  Ray Knight drove in two runs in the eighth with a single and Mookie Wilson tripled home Keith Hernandez in the ninth.

Hernandez scored twice despite not getting a hit and Kevin Mitchell and Howard Johnson both had two hits.  Jesse Orosco improved to 5-5 and Roger McDowell pitched the final 1 2/3 to earn his seventeenth save of the season.

This is the best the National League can throw at us.  The second best team in the National League came to town this week and walked away with their bird tail between their legs.

Carlos Beltran was the hero on Tuesday.  He hit a two run walk off homerun to give the Mets an 8-7 win.  Not to be outdone, Carlos Delgado did his part as well.  He homered twice and drove in five runs.  John Maine was shelled and Aaron Heilman picked up the win.

Wednesday was more of the same.  Steve Trachsel won despite giving up six runs.  Jose Reyes hit his fifteenth homerun and he drove in three runs and stole two bases.  Chris Woodward drove in three runs in the 10-8 beat down.

Dave Williams got the job done for us yesterday.  He gave up two runs on seven hits and one walk with four strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings pitched.  Carlos Delgado hit a two run shot and Carlos Beltran scored twice in the 6-2 win.

Yawn, when do the playoffs start?  The Mets magic number is 22, so we’re getting close to clinching.  Next up is three against the Phillies, who have clawed their back into the playoff mix.

August 24, 1986 at Candlestick Park

Giants 10, Mets 1  (82-42)

The Giants ended the Mets six game win streak by hitting Rick Aguilera and Doug Sisk around the park.  Aguilera dropped to 6-6 by giving up six runs on ten hits in six innings.  Sisk gave up four runs (two earned) on four hits and three walks in two innings of work.

The Mets weren’t that much better with their hitting.  Mike Krukow held the Mets to four hits and the only run scored on Danny Heep’s RBI single in the fourth inning.

August 23, 1986 at Candlestick Park

Mets 3, Giants 2  (82-41)

The Mets made it six straight as Bob Ojeda was just good enough for the Mets to edge the Giants.  Ojeda struck out nine in eight innings of work as he improved to 14-4.  Roger McDowell once again was called in to save the game and he pitched a perfect ninth inning to notch his sixteenth save of the season.

Keith Hernandez drove in a pair of runs and had two hits.  Wally Backman went two for three with a run.

Now is definitely the time.  With a playoff spot pretty much locked up, the Mets have to do everything they can to give themselves a chance to win the World Series.  I know the Mets are stacked for the next few years, but weird things happen.  They were stacked last year and fell short so if you have a chance to win it, it’s worth throwing a little bit of your future away.

Shawn Green’s had a disappointing season, but it hasn’t been horrible.  He’ll join Carlos Beltran out in the outfield and it will give the Mets one more legit hitting threat.  He should be in the lineup tonight and you’d think he’d be fired up since he’s coming to the NL’s best team.

MacLane will turn 24 in the offseason and while he’s been solid, he hasn’t been lighting it up for Norfolk.  He has only 67 strikeouts over 121 1/3 innings.

Welcome to Mets, Shawn Green.

August 22, 1986 at Candlestick Park

Mets 5, Giants 3  (81-41)

The Mets continued to roll as they won their fifth straight game.  Dwight Gooden improved to 13-4 as he went 8 2/3 innings and struck out seven.  Roger McDowell was called in to get the final out with runners at the corners, and he did the job to earn his fifteenth save.

Mookie Wilson drove in two runs and Darryll Strawberry hit his eighteenth homerun of the season.  Rafael Santana scored twice.

I’d never want to complain about my team being too good, but it certainly makes for an anticlimatic season.  While every other division is mired in some kind of race, the Mets have had a hammer lock on things since June.  They took one step closer to the inevitable this weekend with a three game sweep over the Rockies.

Of concern is David Wright’s slump.  He showed flashes of hitting out of it on Friday when he went two for four with two RBIs and a run.  Endy Chavez hit a two run homerun and Steve Trachsel picked up the win.  He gave up three runs on seven hits and three walks with six strikeouts in seven innings.  Billy Wagner saved his 29th game.

Lastings Milledge showed his potential yesterday. He went three for three with a homerun and two RBIs in the Mets’ 7-4 win.  Dave Williams made his first start as a Met and threw a nice game.  Aaron Heilman picked up the win and Wagner picked up save number 30.

Orlando Hernandez was pounded in his last start but he bounced back nicely today.  He threw six shutout innings and he struck out eight.  The only two runs came on solo homeruns by Carlos Delgado and Carlos Beltran.  Hernandez even stole a base.  Wagner saved his third game of the series and brought his season total up to 31.

All the news isn’t good though.  Tom Glavine may have a blood clot in his shoulder and could require season ending surgery.  While this won’t matter too much heading into the end of the season, it leaves us without our second best pitcher in the playoffs.  After Pedro, Trachsel and Hernandez, it’s kind of a crap shoot as to who that fourth starter would be in October.

The Mets magic number is 26 so it probably won’t be until September when we clinch.  Next up is three against a streaky Cardinals.  They’ve been up and down but right now, they’re the second best team in the NL (barely).  You could be seeing a preview of the NLCS.

August 20, 1986 at Dodger Stadium

Mets 7, Dodgers 5  (80-41)

The Mets finished their sweep of the Dodgers and in the process, won their 80th game of the season.  As typical in the series, the Mets jumped out to an early lead (6-0 through five innings) only to have the Dodgers storm back (five runs in the bottom of the fifth).  The rally fell short, and the Mets walked away with their fourth straight win.

Keith Hernandez drove in two runs and Ed Hearn went three for four.  Sid Fernandez helped out his own cause by driving in two runs.

Fernandez improved to 14-4 with six rough innings.  He gave up five runs on six hits and three walks.  Jesse Orosco held the Dodgers hitless in 1 2/3 innings as he earned his 17th save of the season.

It’ll be hard to top the 1986 Mets.  They were probably the best team of the 1980s and the Mets are celebrating that historic teams exploits this weekend.

August 19, 1986 at Dodger Stadium

Mets 6, Dodgers 4  (79-41)

The Mets jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead in the second only to see it completely disappear by the end of the third inning.  Fortunately they put two more runs on the board while Ron Darling and the Mets pen held the Dodgers scoreless the rest of the way.

Kevin Mitchell hit his eleventh homerun of the season and drove in two runs.  Mookie Wilson went two for five with two RBIs and Ron Darling helped out his own cause by getting two hits and scoring twice.

Ron Darling improve to 12-4 with seven solid innings of work.  Roger McDowell held the Dodgers to one hit in the final 1 2/3 innings to walk away with his fourteenth save of the season.

Thankfully, the Mets have an insurmountable lead.  If our best pitcher needs a break, we can afford to put him on the DL.  Lose three of four to the second place Phillies?  No problem.

I could do without the beatdowns though, and man did Pedro Martinez get beat down.  It didn’t stop with him though.  At least the bats didn’t waste anything.  All the offense managed was a measly four hits.

Tuesday was more the same except for Jose Reyes.  He went yard three times and drove in all four Mets’ runs.  In the meantime, Orlando Hernandez completely fell apart.  By the time we got the pitching going on Wednesday, the Mets gets shutout by some sub-.500 pitcher.

Finally the Mets got the job done yesterday.  Carlos Delgado went nuts and hit two homeruns.  Carlos Beltran went four for five with a homerun of his own.  John Maine evened out his record at 3-3 in the 7-2 win.

Next up is the Rockies.  No sweat.

August 18, 1986 at Dodger Stadium 

Mets 5, Dodgers 4  (78-41)

The Mets edged the Dodgers to win their second straight game.  The Mets jumped out to a 5-0 lead after five innings only to see the lead nearly disappear as the Dodgers scored four in the bottom of the fifth.  The Mets pen held the Dodgers in check the rest of the way as they escaped with the win.

Darryll Strawberry had a huge game.  He went two for four with a homerun and three RBIs.  Keith Hernandez homered and drove in two runs and Wally Backman scored twice.

Bob Ojeda improved to 13-4 despite only lasting five innings.  Doug Sisk, Jesse Orosco and Roger McDowell held the Dodgers scoreless in the final four frames and McDowell earned his thireenth save of the season.

August 17, 1986 at Shea Stadium

Cardinals 2, Mets 1  (76-41)

The Mets lost their fourth straight game in the front end of a Sunday doubleheader.  John Tudor held the Mets in check as they only managed to get Keith Hernandez across the plate on Tim Teufel’s sac. fly.

Rick Aguilera’s start was cut short but the pen really picked things up.  Rick Anderson, Doug Sisk and Jesse Orosco held the Cardinals to one run on four hits in 7 2/3 innings of work.  Unfortunately that one run was the deciding factor.

August 17, 1986 at Shea Stadium

Mets 9, Cardinals 2  (77-41)

The Mets ended their four game skid by pounding the Cardinals in the second game of their double header.  Danny Heep, Tim Teufel and Lenny Dykstra all homered for the Mets in the eleven hit, nine run attack.

Randy Niemann got the start for the Met in their sixth game in four days.  He improved to 2-3 and gave up two runs (one earned) on five hits through six innings of work.  Roger McDowell pitched the final three frames and gave up only one hit to earn his 12th save of the season.

August 16, 1986 at Shea Stadium

Cardinals 3, Mets 1  (76-40)

The Cardinals handed the Mets their third straight loss in another poor performance by the Mets offense.  They managed only one run on six hits in eleven innings with the sole run coming on a Lee Mazzilli solo homerun.

Dwight Gooden had a great start go to waste.  He held the Cardinals to one run on four hits and four walks.  Roger McDowell pitched the ninth and the two extra innings and dropped to 12-7 on the season.

August 15, 1986 at Shea Stadium

Cardinals 4, Mets 2  (76-39)

The Mets dropped their second straight game in an extra innings pitching dual.  Sid Fernandez gave up a long run in the top of the first and it took the Mets seven innings to tie the game up.  Things went into extra innings and the defending National League champs busted out for three runs in the top of the tenth off of Jesse Orosco to put the game away.

The Mets tried to rally in the bottom of the tenth, and while they actually scored a run, they fell just short.  Keith Hernandez and Gary Carter both flew out with runners on first and second as the game ended.

wally Backman went three for five and Rafael Santana went three for five and he scored both Mets’ runs.  Sid Fernandez went seven innings and gave up only one run on five hits with eight strikeouts.  Orosco dropped to 4-5 on the season.

August 14, 1986 at Shea Stadium

Mets 4, Cardinals 3  (76-37)

The Mets took the first game of their double header with the Cardinals in a back and forth game.  Terry Pendleton took Ron Darling deep to give the Cards a 1-0 lead, but the Mets answered in the bottom half of the inning when Ray Knight scored on Rafael Santana’s fielders choice.

The Cardinals took the lead again in the fifth on Vince Coleman’s RBI single and the score would stand at 2-1 until the bottom of the seventh.  With two outs, Mookie Wilson doubled and then Kevin Mitchell hit his tenth homerun of the season to give the Mets their first lead of the game.

Things got out of control quickly in the ninth for the Mets.  Jesse Orosco proceeded to load the bases up with one out, then Rafael Santana made an error that tied the game up.  Roger McDowell took over and in what might have been a squeez play attempt, Andy Van Slyke was caught stealing home.  Ozzie Smith then grounded to third to end the inning.

The Mets wasted little time in the bottom of the ninth to put this game away.  Rafael Santana went from goat to hero by doubling to lead things off but Wally Backman failed to move him over with his bunt attempt.  Mookie Wilson singled and Santana tried scoring from second, but Vince Coleman gunned him down at the plate.  Fortunately Wilson moved to second and then scored on Kevin Mitchell’s single to end the game. 

August 14, 1986 at Shea Stadium

Cardinals 5, Mets 1  (76-38)

The Mets came up flat in the second game of their doubleheader against the Cardinals.  Ricky Horton held the Mets to a single run on only three hits and two walks.  The one run came on an RBI single by Tim Teufel.

Rick Anderson got off to a rough start in the first inning by giving up three runs, two of which came on a two run shot by Tom Herr.   In all, he went six innings and gave up four runs on six this.  Doug Sisk gave up an unearned run in his two innings of work and Randy Myers finished the game up without giving up a hit in the ninth.

Yawn.  Wake me up when the playoffs start.

Tom Glavine looks like he’s throwing well again.  Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to win Friday’s game.  Glavine gave up two runs on only seven hits in seven innings of work.  He struck out seven.  The only Mets’ run came on Paul Lo Duca’s solo homerun in the first inning.  Jose Reyes had two of the Mets’ five hits and he stole his 49th base of the season.

John Maine got the Mets back on track yesterday even if his scoreless inning streak finally came to an end in the fourth inning.  Maine left the game tied 4-4 but the Mets put two runs on the board in the seventh inning.  Carlos Beltran went three for five with an RBI.  David Wright scored two runs in the 6-4 win, and Pedro Feliciano picked up the win with an inning and two thirds of scoreless relief despite allowing an inherited runner to score that was credited to Maine.

Steve Trachsel also looks like he’s getting back on track.  He gave up only a run in 6 2/3 innings.  Chad Bradford picked up the win when Michael Tucker homered in the eighth inning to give the Mets the lead.  The Mets won this one 3-1 with only four hits and two walks in the game.

Next up is four against the Phillies.  They’re still in second place in the NL East, like that matters.

August 13, 1986 at Veteran’s Stadium

Phillies 8, Mets 4  (75-37)

The Mets lost their three game series with the Phillies.  Bob Ojeda was roughed up for seven runs in six innings of work and he gave up a season high three homeruns as he dropped to 12-4.

Kevin Mitchell went two for four with a double, a triple and two runs.  Ray Knight was two for four with an RBI and a run and Lee Mazzilli hit a two run shot in the ninth inning to make the game look like less of a blow out.

August 12, 1986 at Veteran’s Stadium

Phillies 3, Mets 1  (75-36)

Rick Aguilera and Doug Sisk held the Phillies to three hits but the Phillies scored three runs.  And despite the Phillies making three errors, the Mets only managed one run off of Kevin Gross.

Len Dykstra led off the game with a solo homer, but the Mets never threatened again.  Wally Backman had two singles to account for the only multihit game for the Mets.

Aguilera gave up three runs (two earned) on two hits and three walks.  Doug Sisk threw the final two frames and gave up only one hit.

August 11, 1986 at Veteran’s Stadium

Mets 8, Phillies 4  (75-35)

The Mets had another big offensive game as they won their third in a row, all of which they scored at least seven runs.  Ray Knight doubled twice and drove in two runs while Gary Carter and Keith Hernandez both had two hits. 

Dwight Gooden cruised to his twelth win of the season by going the distance.  He gave up four runs on nine hits with ten strikeouts.

Man is this going to be a boring two months.  I’m looking forward to September and the callups when we get a chance to see some of the kids play.  In the meantime, hopefully Willie Randolph will be giving guys like Carlos Beltran, David Wright and Jose Reyes a break now and then.  The lead is now 14 games.

David Wright was the hero in Tuesday’s game.  He drove in the tying and go ahead runs on seperate singles and finished the game with three hits.  Beltran had three hits and a run while Steve Trachsel improved to 11-5 on the season.  He gave up two runs on five hits in 5 2/3 innings.  Five relievers combined to shut out the Padres over the final 3 1/3 innings in the 3-2 win.

Pedro Martinez got the job done yesterday.  He threw 7 1/3 solid innings and improved to 9-4 on the year.  Endy Chavez had three hits and an RBI and Jose Reyes went two for five with a run, an RBI and a stolen base in the 4-3 win.

The Mets finished the sweep this afternoon.  Orlando Hernandez gave up two early runs but the Mets bounced back and took a one run lead with one run in the second.  The Padres actually tied this game up, but then the Mets broke things open with four runs in the seventh inning.  El Duque improved to 8-8 on the season and Jose Reyes had two hits, two runs and two RBIs in the 7-3 win.

Next up is three against the Nationals.  Yawn.

August 10, 1986 at Olympic Stadium

Mets 7, Expos 2  (74-35)

The Mets won their series with Expos and although the score wouldn’t indicate, this one was close for most of the game.  The Expos led 2-1 going into the seventh, but the Mets scored four in the seventh and two in the ninth to put it in the “blowout” category.

Sid Fernandez was solid in six innings of work.  He gave up two runs on only three hits and he struck out seven.  Rick Anderson pitched three perfect frames to end the game and he earned his first save of the season.

Wally Backman had a big as he went three for five with a double, a run and three RBIs.  Len Dykstra scored twice and Darryl Strawberry went two for four with a run, an RBI and two stolen bases.

August 9, 1986 at Olympic Stadium

Mets 10, Expos 8  (73-35)

It’s not too often you can make three errors and be down 6-1 in the eighth and come back to win.  In addition, the Mets had one of the oddest box score lines I’ve ever seen.  Ten runs on only seven hits (and then the three errors).

With the score 6-1 in the top of the eighth, Howard Johnson led off the inning with a double.  The recently acquired Lee Mazzilli in a trade for George Foster and he drew a walk before Len Dykstra drove home Johnson with a single.  Tim Teufel drew a walk to load the bases and then Keith Hernandez drove home Mazzilli and Dykstra with a single.  Gary Carter was hit by a pitch to load the bases and then Darryl Strawberry hit a deep sac fly to left to score Teufel.  Then with the Mets down by a run, Mookie Wilson hit a three run homerun to cap off a seven run inning that gave the Mets a two run lead.

Unfortunately, the Mets almost blew it.  A Howard Johnson error helped the Expos score two unearned runs to tie the game.  But the Mets scored two runs in the top of the ninth on Gary Carter’s bases loaded single to lock the game up.  Jesse Orosco pitched an uneventful ninth to earn his sixteenth save of the season.

August 8, 1986 at Olympic Stadium

Expos 5, Mets 3  (72-35)

After playing 30 innings in two days, the Mets finally ran out of gas in Montreal.  Bob Ojeda was hit hard early and while he last five innings, the Expos scored all the runs they’d need (four) by the end of the second inning.

Keith Hernandez had two doubles and an RBI as the Mets were held to eight hits.  Bob Ojeda dropped to 12-3 on the season with the loss.