Tom Seaver Fan Club

September 30, 1986 at Olympic Stadium 

Expos 1, Mets 0  (103-54)

The Mets had their worst offensive game of the season by being shutout and held to only two hits.  Gary Carter’s double and Lenny Dykstra’s single were the only hits of the game.

Ron Darling had a great outing go to waste and he dropped to 14-6.  He gave up one run on six hits and no walks with seven strikeouts in seven innings of work.

Man, this is bitter sweet.  The good news is, we’ve gone most of the season without a really effective Pedro and still finished with the best record in the National League.  The bad news is, you knew he’d be money and a difference maker.  Now that World Series win doesn’t seem as firmly in the grasp as most of us thought.  The other odd thing is, the Mets still don’t know who’ll they’ll be playing in the post season.  Could be any of potentially five teams still but it’ll likely be the Dodgers.

Oh yeah, and the Mets played the Braves this week. Tuesday’s game was pretty ugly.  Oliver Perez was bombed as was Heath Bell out of the pen.  Both gave up six runs.  In the meantime, John Smoltz shut down the Mets offense and sent them packing with a six hit shutout.

Wednesday game could have been the toughest game of the year.  Pedro was shelled.  This isn’t how a World Series contender plays in their final week.  Pedro gave up seven runs in less then three innings of work and it’s probably the final outing of the year for Pedro 2006.  The lone Mets run came when Carlos Delgado scored on Shawn Green’s ground out.

Finally, the Mets snapped their skid yesterday.  Orlando Hernandez gave us five solid innings and while the pen didn’t pitch well, they didn’t blow it either.  Carlos Beltran hit homerun number 41 and Carlos Delgado drove in four runs in the 7-4 win.

The Mets finish up on the road in Washington.  Hopefully nothing else bad happens.

September 28, 1986 at Three Rivers Stadium 

Mets 4, Pirates 1  (103-53)

The Mets completed their sweep of the Pirates with another eleven inning pitchers dual.  Bob Ojeda had a one run lead and a three hit shutout when Jim Morrison hit a solo homerun with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to send the game into extra innings.  Both teams got two batters on in the tenth, but neither scored.

In the top of the eleventh, Mookie Wilson and Tim Teufel struck out to start the inning.  Lenny Dykstra and Gary Carter followed that up with back to back singles, and then Darryl Strawberry hit a huge three run homerun to put the game away.  Reliever Rick Aguilera put the Pirates down in order and he walked away with his ninth win of the season.

September 27, 1986 at Three Rivers Stadium 

Mets 4, Pirates 2  (102-53)

The Mets continued to add to their franchise record win total as they topped the Pirates in eleven innings.  The Pirates got on the board early off of Dwight Gooden and an RBI double by rookie Barry Bonds capped off a rally that gave the Pirates a 2-0 lead.

Dwight Gooden calmed down and the Mets tied the game in the top of the fifth.  Mookie Wilson grounded out but drove home Tim Teufel and then Lenny Dykstra doubled home Rafael Santana.

For the next five innings, neither team scored.  In the top of the eleventh, Gary Carter and Darryl Strawberry led off with back to back singles and they both moved over a base on Ray Knight’s bunt.  Wally Backman was given an intentional pass to load the bases and then Danny Heep reached base on an error by reliever Barry Jones that scored both Carter and Strawberry.  The Pirates threatened in the bottom of the eleventh by getting two men on, but Doug Sisk got rookie Barry Bonds to strike out and end the game.

September 26, 1986 at Three Rivers Stadium 

Mets 3, Pirates 1  (101-53)

Sid Fernandez held the Pirates in check as he improved to 16-6 on the season.  He gave up a single run on eight hits with seven strikeouts in eight innings of work.  Roger McDowell came in and held the Pirates scoreless.  He earned his 20th save of the season.

Keith Hernandez had a two run single and Howard Johnson hit a solo homerun to account for the Mets three runs.  They only managed four hits but were able to make those count.

The Mets dropped three of four to the Nationals this weekend.    It’s hard to tell whether this matters or not because the Mets have little to play for. It’s just worrisome because the track record of teams that clinch early isn’t all that great.  Hopefully Willie Randolph is keeping the boys in check.

David Wright hit his first homerun in September in the lone Mets win.  While his numbers still look nice, Wright has only hit five homeruns since he made a run in the Home Run Derby at the All Star Game.  The net result of this is a more then 100 point drop in OPS.  It’d be nice if Wright got out of this extended slump and maybe pulled together a post season MVP or something.

Pedro Martinez makes his final tune up start on Wednesday.  The games only on locally so I won’t be able to tune in but I might listen in to see how Pedro is doing.  It sure would be nice if he did a number on the Braves.

September 25, 1986 at Wrigely Field 

Mets 6, Mets 5  (100-53)

The Mets tied a franchise record with their 100 win of the season in a tight contest with the Cubs.  The Mets appeared to have things in check after scoring three runs in the top of the ninth to break a 3-3 tie, but Roger McDowell was knocked around and Jesse Orosco had to come in and get the final out to end the rally.

Kevin Mitchell hit his 13th homerun of the season and singled.  Ray Knight drove in two runs and Mookie Wilson went three for five.

Talk about some shuffling, although it seems like the International League has a bunch of changes in the works.  The Mets announced that they’ll be moving their Triple A affiliate from Norfolk to New Orleans beginning in 2007.  So the Mets Triple A affiliate will now be in the Pacific Coast League.  It looks likely that the Tides will be a Baltimore Orioles affiliate next year.  The Norfolk Tides have been a Mets affiliate since 1969.

The Mets also lost a Single A affiliate.  The Hagerstown Suns announced they’d be jumping and becoming a Washington Nationals affiliate so now the Mets have to look for their replacement.

September 24, 1986 at Wrigley Field 

Cubs 8, Mets 2  (99-53)

The Cubs pummelled the Mets to prevent them from breaking their franchise win record.  Doug Sisk was shelled in the seventh inning to allow the Cubs to run away with it.  Rick Aguilera actually took the loss due to two early runs and he dropped to 8-7.

Gary Carter drove in both of the Mets runs with a two run shot in the top of the eighth.  In total, the Mets only had six hits and two walks.

September 23, 1986 at Shea Stadium 

Mets 9, cardinals 1  (100-52)

The Mets tied a franchise record with their 100th win of the season.  Bob Ojeda held the Mets in check with six quality innings.  He gave up one run on three hits with five strikeouts and he improved to 17-5.  Jesse Orosco pitched the final three frames without giving up a run to earn his 19th save of the season.

Lee Mazzilli was one of the hitting stars.  he went two for four with three RBIs and a run.  Ray Knight, Keith Hernandez and Darryl Strawberry all went yard for the Mets.

September 22, 1986 at Shea Stadium 

Mets 5, Cardinals 2  (98-52)

The Mets came within one win of tying the team’s record 100 wins set back in 1969 by topping the Cardinals.  Dwight Gooden was impressive with his complete game two hitter.  He did give up two runs (one earned) and improved to 16-6.

Darryl Strawberry hit his 22nd homerun of the season and Wally Backman hit his first in the win.  Rafael Santana drove in two runs.

This is the tough part of the year.  You want the playoffs to start now.  And all the while, you hope the Mets continue their winning ways while not suffering an injury along the way.

On Monday, Steve Trachsel threw a very nice game.  He won his 15th game and he combined with three other relievers for a four hit shutout.  Jose Valentin homered twice in the 4-0 win.

Tom Glavine got the job done on Tuesday.  He gave up two runs in the second inning but then held the Marlins scoreless the rest of the way.  He threw eight inning and 103 pitches so it looks like he’s back to mid season form.  Shortstop prospect Anderson Hernandez hit his first career homerun and he scored twice in the 3-2 win.

Dontrelle Willis held the Mets in check on Wednesday and Oliver Perez was roughed up in the middle innings in the first Mets loss of the series.  Perez gave up three runs and struck out six in 5 1/3 innings.  Jose Reyes had two hits and two runs and Paul LoDuca went three for four with a run and an RBI in the 6-3 loss.

Pedro Martinez looked like he was improving with yesterday start, even though he took the loss.  He struck out seven in five innings, but he gave up four runs (three earned) on four hits.  He’ll get one more start before the playoffs start and that’s probably the biggest game left for the Mets.  An effective Pedro will mean a good playoff run for the Mets.

Next up is four games against the Nationals.

September 21, 1986 at Shea Stadium 

Phillies 7, Mets 1  (97-52)

The Mets continued to struggle against the Phillies as they lost their third straight series to the team.  The Mets managed only a single run on three hits off of starter Marvin Freeman and Kent Tekulve.  The lone run came in the second inning.  Darryl Strawberry tripled to lead off the inning, then scored on a passed ball.

John Mitchell lost his first career start.  He went five innings and gave up four runs on seven hits.

Septmber 20, 1986 at Shea stadium 

Mets 9, Phillies 5  (97-51)

The Mets finally figured out the Phillies and ended their six game skid against the team.  The Mets scored their runs in bunches.  They got three in the first inning to give them a nice lead, but then Ron Darling gave that away when he gave up three in the sixth.  The Mets answered in the bottom half of the inning with five runs, four of which were unearned because of an error by Phillies shortstop Steve Jeltz.

Ron Darling improved to 14-5 by going seven innings and giving up three runs on seven hits with seven strikeouts.  Roger McDowell was shaky in two innings of work, and Davey Johnson had to be concerned about his struggling bullpen as the playoffs approached.

Rookie Stan Jefferson hit his first major league homerun with a three run shot in that big sixth inning.  Rookie backstop John Gibbons also hit his first (and only) career homerun as he went four for four with the homerun, two doubles, two runs and an RBI.  Gibbons had a grand total of eleven hits in his career spread over two seasons, and four of them came in this one game.

September 19, 1986 at Shea Stadium 

Phillies 4, Mets 3  (96-51)

The Mets lost to the Philies for the sixth straight time in a dramatic game that included ninth rallies by both teams.  The Mets got on the board in the fourth inning when Kevin Mitchell drove home Tim Teufel on a sac. fly, but the Phillies took the lead in the top of the sixth when they tagged Sid Fernandez for two runs.

Neither team would score through the end of the eighth inning.  In the top of the ninth, Niemann gave up two runs to make it 4-1 and the game appeared out of reach for the Mets. 

In the bottom of the ninth, Stan Jefferson struck out to lead things off, and then Tim Teufel singled.  Rookie Dave Magadan singled and moved Teufel to third before Kevin Mitchell grounded out to short for out number two.  Then back to back singles by Danny Heep and Howard Johnson drove home a run apiece to make it one run game.  The Phillies went to their pen and brought in Steve Bedrosian, who was then able to get Darryl Strawberry to line out and end the game.

The Mets clinched the NL East last night with a shutout win over the Marlins.  Now their magic number is three, which is what they need to do to get home field in the National League playoffs.

September 18, 1986 at Shea Stadium 

Mets 5, Cubs 0  (96-50)

The Mets swept their two game miniseries with the Cubs by hitting rookie stater Greg Maddux hard in the fourth inning and with a strong outing by Rick Anderson.  The Mets tagged Maddux for four runs in the fourth and by the end of the inning, the Cubs were looking to their pen.

Anderson improved to 2-1 on the season as he shutout the Cubs through five innings.  J. John Mitchell and Randy Myers closed the game out by combining for four scoreless innings.

Howard Johnson had the big hit of the game.  His three run shot in the fourth put the game away.  He also walked twice and stole two bases.

This was definitely not good.  The Mets dropped all three of their games against one of the worst teams in baseball and assuming the Phillies hold on in their game, the Mets will have to wait until tomorrow to wrap up the NL East.

Pedro Martinez made his return on Friday and it was less then encouraging.  There’s no doubt that having a healthy Pedro would be huge in the playoffs but that doesn’t look like it’s going to happen.  We’ll have to settle for just a good Pedro, which still might be enough.  Martinez gave up four runs on six hits with four strikeouts in three innings.  On offense, Jose Reyes got it done.  He went two for four with two RBIs and a run in the 5-3 loss.

Orlando Herandez was very solid yesterday but he left with the game tied.  Then Aaron Heilman gave up the winning run in the ninth inning.  Carlos Delgado had two RBis and two hits in the 3-2 loss.

Today the Mets got shut out by Zach Duke.  Not much good to say about this one.  John Maine was at least solid and kept the Mets in the game and Endy Chavez had three hits in the 3-0 loss.

Next up is the Marlins.  At this point, we just have to hope there’s no serious injuries in the next couple of weeks.

September 17, 1986 at Shea Stadium 

Mets 4, Cubs 2  (95-50)

The Mets came one step closer to breaking the franchise record of 100 wins that the 1969 team set.  Dwight Gooden was solid on the mound as he improved to 15-6 with another complete game.  He gave up two runs on six hits and five walks with eight strikeouts.

Rookie Dave Magadan had the best game of his short career.  He went three for four with two RBIs.  Lenny Dykstra went two for four with two runs and Darryl Strawberry and Ray Knight both had two hits.

September 16, 1986 at Busch Stadium 

Mets 4, Cardinals 2  (94-50)

The Mets finally got back on track and ended their four game skid with a good outing by Rick Aguilera and some solid pen work by Jesse Orosco.  He gave up two runs on eight hits with six strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings of work.  Jesse Orosco threw 2 1/3 perfect innings to earn his eighteenth save of the season.

Three of the Mets four runs came in the third inning.  Aguilera led off the inning with a strikeout but Mookie Wilson and Kevin Mitchell drew back to back walks.  Keith Hernandez moved them both over with a ground out and then Gary Carter was walked intentionally to load up the bases.  Cardinals starter Tim Conroy threw a wild pitch that scored Wilson and moved everyone over and then Darryl Strawberry drew a walk.  Joe Boever replaced Conroy on the mound and immediately gave up a two run single to give the Mets the lead (for good).  The Mets added an insurance run in the eighth when Wally Backman tripled and then scored on Rafael Santana’s single, but the run ended up being unneccesary.

September 15, 1986 at Busch Stadium 

Cardinals 1, Mets 0  (93-50)

The Mets matched their longest losing streak of the season by dropping an extra inning pitchers dual.  Ron Darling left the game after nine innings, effectively throwing a four hit shutout, but the Mets couldn’t put a run on the board.  John Tudor started the game but left in the fourth inning with a sore shoulder.

The game finally ended in the bottom of the thirteenth.  With the bases loaded, Roger McDowell walked home the winning run as he dropped to 13-9 on the season.

The Phillies are losing as I right this.  If that stands, the Mets will have wrapped up a share of the NL East title.  Of course with over two weeks left in the season, I like the Mets chances of making that magic number zero.

Monday was a weird game.  Dave Williams was rocked and gave up nine runs in only three innings.  Heath Bell was bounced after giving up five runs and in all the Marlins hit five homeruns.  In the meantime, Carlos Beltran hit homerun number 40 in the 16-5 blowout loss.

Things got back to normal on Tuesday.  Carlos Delgado went yard and he drove in three runs in the 6-4 loss.  Oliver Perez struck out eleven in five innings but he gave up four runs and didn’t get a decision.  The pen did a nice job.  Four scoreless innings and Guillermo Mota picked up the win.

Last night, the Mets needed eleven innings but they picked up the win.  Carlos Delgado came up huge with an RBI single in the ninth to send the game into extra frames.  Then in the eleventh, the Mets racked up three runs to put the game away.  Paul LoDuca drove in three and Jose Reyes scored twice in the 7-4 win.  Tom Glavine was okay through six innings and Aaron Heilman picked up the win.

Next up is three against the Pirates.

September 14, 1986 at Veteran’s Stadium 

Phillies 6, Mets 0  (93-49)

The Mets lost their third straight game and their fifth in sixth games as they were swept by the Phillies.  The Mets were shutout and held to only six hits by Kevin Gross.

Sid Fernandez dropped to 15-5 and only went four innings.  He gave up four runs on six hits with four strikeouts.  Wally Backman and rookie Kevin Elster both had two hits.

September 13, 1986 at Veteran’s Stadium 

Phillies 6, Mets 5  (93-48)

The Mets lost for the fourth time in five games in a close affair with the Phillies.  The Mets jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead on rookie starter Greg Maddux in the first inning and the Phillies responded with two runs in the fourth and sixth to tie the game.  Two more runs in the seventh for the Phillies effectively put the game away.

Roger McDowell was hit hard in relief and dropped to 13-8.  He gave up four runs on three hits and two walks in two innings of work.  Starter Bob Ojeda gave up two unearned runs on three hits through five innings.

Lenny Dykstra hit his eighth homerun of the season and Ray Knight had two hits and two RBIs.  Mookie Wilson and Keith Hernandez both had two singles.

September 12, 1986 at Veteran’s Stadium 

Phillies 6, Mets 3  (93-47)

Four errors and a shaky start by Dwight Gooden cost the Mets a win in this one.  Gooden went five innings and gave up five runs (four earned) on eight hits with seven strikeouts.

Rookie Bruce Ruffin held the Mets in check by allowing only three runners to score.  Tim Teufel had two hits and two RBIs while Keith Hernandez went two for four with a run.

In what could be a playoff preview, the Mets split their series with the Dodgers this weekend.  No sweat, because the games don’t matter yet, at least not for the Mets.  They should be wrapping up the division some time this week.  I’d guess Wednesday or Thursday.

Tom Glavine looked really sharp on Thursday and he was helped by a three run inside the park homerun by Jose Reyes.  Glavine went 6 1/3 shutout innings and gave up only five hits.  Jose Valentin also homered and he scored twice and drove in twice.

I’m not sure what happened on Friday.  The Mets were completely shutdown by a rookie pitcher.  John Maine was okay but not great and he took the loss.  David Wright had two of the Mets’ four hits in the 5-0 loss.

Yesterday’s win was a good one.  Carlos Delgado got the Mets on the board with a solo homerun in the second.  Orlando Hernandez was roughed up for two runs in the top of the sixth but David Wright drove in two with a single in the bottom half of the inning to put the Mets back on top.  Aaron Heilman and Billy Wagner shut down the Dodgers in the eighth and the ninth and the final ended up being 3-2.

The Mets were blown out today.  Another rookie pitcher did us in and the only run came on Jose Reyes’ 19th homerun of the season.  Steve Trachsel was roughed up and he didn’t even last three innings.  Brian Bannister was also shelled, which also isn’t encouraging.

Next up is three against the Marlins who are in a three way tied for second place in the Wild Card race.

September 10, 1986 at Shea Stadium 

Mets 6, Expos 1  (93-46)

A big first inning and a strong outing by Ron Darling ended the Mets two game losing streak.  Darling improved to 13-5 by going eight innings.  He gave up only a single run on five hits.

Keith Hernandez and Mookie Wilson both homered and drove in two runs.  Wally Backman had two hits and a run.

September 9, 1986 at Shea Stadium 

Expos 9, Mets 7  (92-46)

The Expos handed the Mets their second straight loss as their pitchers once again got tagged.  Rick Aguilera gave up four runs on eleven hits before coming out of the game.  The usually reliable pair of Roger McDowell and Jesse Orosco combined to give up five runs on eight hits in two innings of work.  Orosco took the loss and dropped to 6-6.

Darryll Strawberry hit his 21st homerun of the season and Rafael Santana and Lenny Dykstra both drove in two runs.  Danny Heep scored twice and tripled.

September 8, 1986 at Shea Stadium 

Expos 9, Mets 1  (92-45)

The Mets four game winning streak came to crashing halt as Bob Ojeda was pummelled by the Expos.  He gave up six runs on ten hits in 6 2/3 innings of work.  Rick Anderson didn’t fare too much better in 1 1/3 innings of relief.  He gave up three runs on six hits.

Darryl Strawberry accounted for the lone Mets run by hitting a solo shot in the bottom of the ninth.  The Mets only managed five hits, all by different players.

September 7, 1986 at Shea Stadium 

Mets 7, Padres 1  (91-44)

The Mets won their third game in a row behind a masterful performance by Dwight Gooden.  The Padres only scored one run off of Gooden on a solo homerun by Iorg.  Gooden improved to 14-5 and gave up only five hits and he struck out five.

Mookie Wilson and Kevin Mitchell both had big games.  Wilson went two for four with two RBIs and two runs.  Mitchell drove in three runs on two hits.  Gary Carter drove in two runs without getting a hit.

September 7, 1986 at Shea Stadium 

Mets 6, Padres 5  (92-44)

The Mets finished their doubleheader sweep against the Padres in a tight game.  In the bottom of the first, Keith Hernandez and Danny Heep had RBI singles to give the Mets a 2-0 lead, but the Padres answered in the third inning with three runs off of Sid Fernandez.

The Mets tied the game in the fourth on another RBI single by Keith Hernandez, but the Padres once again took the lead with a run in the sixth.  Then in the bottom half of the sixth, the Mets took the lead for good.  Wally Backman led off with a walk and then stole second base.  Keith Hernandez singled him home to tie the game and then moved to second on Darryll Strawberry’s ground out.  Danny Heep and Howard Johnson then drew back to back walks to load the bases up, and then Ed Hearn drew another walk to drive Hernandez home.  Rafael Santana then reached on a fielders choice that drove home Heep before Lee Mazzilli grounded to short to end the inning.

The Padres did threaten in the ninth.  Bip Roberts drove home Garry Templeteon to make it a one run game but Roger McDowell got Dane Iorg to ground to end the inning.

Doug Sisk walked away with the win and improved to 4-2.  Roger McDowell saved his nineteenth game of the season.