National League Championship Series Game Five
October 14, 1986 at Shea Stadium
Mets 2, Astros 1 Mets Lead Best of Seven Series 3-2
This was one of those classic and defining games that made the 1986 Mets truly special. In a pivotal game five, the Mets and Astros played to a 1-1 draw through eleven innings before the Mets finally put the game away in the twelth. With that, they were only one win away from the franchise’s second World Series appearance.
Nolan Ryan actually outpitched Dwight Gooden in this game. Ryan threw nine innings and gave up only two hits with twelve strikeouts. One of those two hits though was a solo homerun by Darryl Strawberry. That one run was all the Mets needed to send the game into extra frames.
The Astros had scored their lone run in the top half of that fifth inning. Alan Ashby scored on Bill Doran’s groundout. Gooden was almost as good. he threw ten innings and gave up that one run on nine hits and two walks with four strikeouts.
The Astros got two men on in the tenth but couldn’t bring one across while the Mets went down easily in both the tenth and eleventh innings. The Astros didn’t do anything in the eleventh or twelth and that set up one of those memorable moments.
Wally Backman singled with one out in the twelth. He was picked off of first base but Astros reliever Charlie Kerfeld threw the ball away. Keith Hernandez was given a free pass and then Gary Carter made the Astros pay for their mistake with a walk off RBI single to win it.
One more game, and the Mets would be headed to the World Series.
