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Wednesday, October 1, 1969

The Mets’s had their scoreless innings pitched streak snapped, but they kept their winning streak going.

New York won 6-5 in 12 innings at Wrigley to record their 100th victory of the season. The Mets looked to have won it in the top of the 9th when Tommie Agee doubled off Cubs starter Ken Holtzman to drive in two runs. But Nolan Ryan walked the first two men he faced in the bottom of the inning, and both came around to score. Ron Taylor stranded the winning run at second, and the game proceeded into extra innings.

The game stayed knotted until the top of the 12th, when Bud Harrelson led off with a double off Dick Selma and then scored on a single from Art Shamsky. Rookie Bob Johnson took the mound for New York in the bottom of the 12th and preserved the win despite giving up a one-out double to Ernie Banks.

Tug McGraw pitched two scoreless innings for the Mets after Jerry Koosman went the first five. Bud Harrelson and Tommie Agee both went 2 for 6 with 2 RBI. Cleon Jones went 1 for 5 and now sits at .339 in the batting race.

Dick Young went 2 for 5 with a home run for the Cubs, while Paul Popovich, Billy Williams, and Ernie Banks each went 2 for 6.

Mets 6, Cubs 5 (12 inn.).  W: Taylor (9-4)  L: Selma (12-10)  SV: Johnson (1)

Tuesday, September 23, 1969

The Mets trailed the Cardinals 2-1 going into the bottom of the eighth, but Art Shamsky singled in Tommie Agee to tie the game.  Four innings of scoreless relief from Tug McGraw carried the game into the bottom of the eleventh. Ron Swoboda singled off starter Bob Gibson with one out, Jerry Grote’s hit moved him to second, and Bud Harrelson punched a single into leftfield to score Swoboda with the winning run. New York’s Jim McAndrew started and gave up just two unearned runs in seven innings before leaving in favor of a pinch-hitter.

With the win and Chicago’s loss, the Mets’s magic number is down to 1.

Mets 3, Cardinals 2 (11 inn.).  W: McGraw (9-3)  L: Gibson (18-13)

Ken Holtzman’s second-half struggles continued, as he lasted just three innings and gave up five runs to visiting Montreal. Bob Bailey drove in three runs, and both Rusty Staub and Ron Fairly went deep for the Expos.

Expos 7, Cubs 3.  W: Stoneman (11-18)  L: Holtzman (17-12)

***

NL EAST                              W    L    T   PCT    GB    M#
New York Mets                  95   61    0  .609     -       1
Chicago Cubs                    89   67    1  .571   6.0     -

Saturday, September 20, 1969

The Mets may be in first place, but the Pirates are looking like the top team in the East right now.

Bob Moose threw a no-hitter at Shea, giving Pirates their third win in two days against New York. Moose walked 3 and struck out 6. After walking Rod Gaspar to lead off the ninth, Moose got Tommie Agee to pop up, retired Wayne Garrett on a ground out to third, and then secured the no-hitter when Art Shamsky grounded out to second.

Pirates 4, Mets 0. W: Moose (12-3)  L: Gentry (11-12) 

Errors by All-Stars Ron Santo and Glenn Beckert opened the door for four Cardinals runs as St. Louis emerged with a victory in Wrigley, despite a triple and home run from Jim Hickman.

Cardinals 4, Cubs 1.  W: Carlton (17-10)  L: Hands (18-14)  SV: Grant (7)

Friday, September 19, 1969

Looking for something to build off next year, the improving Pittsburgh Pirates jumped on the streaking New York Mets to sweep a doubleheader at Shea. Matty Alou led the charge in game one by going 4 for 4 with 3 RBI, and Willie Stargell was 3 for 5 with a home run and 2 RBI in the second game. New York’s Al Weis went a combined 4 for 7 on the day and Jerry Grote a combined 3 for 6.

Pirates 8, Mets 2 (1).  W: Veale (13-12)  L: Ryan (6-3)

Pirates 8, Mets 0 (2). W: Walker (3-6)  L: McAndrew (6-7)

Both Ken Holtzman and Bob Gibson recorded extra-inning complete games in the front end of a doubleheader at Wrigley, and Jim Hickman touched Gibson for a double with two outs bottom of tenth to drive in Billy Williams with the winning run.  The Cardinals struck back with 5 runs, 3 unearned, off the Chicago bullpen to pull away in game two.

Cubs 2, Cardinals 1 (1, 10 inn.).  W: Holtzman (17-11)  L: Gibson (18-12)

Cardinals 7, Cubs 2.  W: Torrez (9-4)  L: Selma (12-9)

***

STANDINGS AT CLOSE OF PLAY ON 9/20/69

NL EAST                              W    L    T   PCT    GB 
New York Mets                   91   61    0  .599     - 
Chicago Cubs                    88   66    1  .571   4.0
Pittsburgh Pirates              82   70    0  .539   9.0 
St. Louis Cardinals             82   70    0  .539   9.0
Philadelphia Phillies           61   91    0  .401  30.0 
Montreal Expos                  50  104    0  .325  42.0

Sunday, September 14, 1969

Steve Blass pitched his way around 11 hits and broke the Mets’ 10-game winning streak.

New York battled back to tie the game after trailing 3-0, but Blass himself singled in the go-ahead run for Pittsburgh and then made the lead hold up.  Starter Nolan Ryan took just his second loss of the season.

Bud Harrelson tallied three hits in the leadoff spot for the Mets, while Ed Charles and Jerry Grote had two hits apiece and all three men scored once.

Pirates 5, Mets 3.  W: Blass (15-9)  L: Ryan (6-2)

Chicago’s Ken Holtzman and St. Louis’s Bob Gibson both carried a pitcher’s duel into the 10th inning, when Lou Brock won it for the home team with a walk-off home run. Gibson held the Cubs to just seven hits, two by Holtzman and two by recently acquired centerfielder Jimmie Hall.

Despite pitching well, Holtzman fell to 0-3 in the month of September.

Cardinals 2, Cubs 1 (10 inn.).  W: Gibson (18-11)  L: Holtzman (16-11)

***

NL EAST                               W    L    T   PCT    GB 
New York Mets                   88   58    0  .603     -  
Chicago Cubs                     85   62    1  .578   3.5 

Wednesday, September 10, 1969.

The unthinkable has happened.  The New York Mets are in first place.

The Mets began play a half-game behind Chicago, which had been in first place in the National League East since the very first day of the season, and had as recently as August 13 led New York by 9 1/2 games in the standings.

The Shea Stadium crowd cheered the Amazins Wednesday evening as the home took the field for the first game of a doubleheader against the last-place Montreal Expos. New York’s Jim McAndrew worked through a rocky first and second innings, giving up a single run in each, before settling into a groove and turning in a heroic, 11-inning gem – allowing just one hit over his last nine frames. At the same time, Expos starter Mike Wegener was just as good, lasting 11 innings himself and allowing just two runs himself – one on a first-inning Art Shamsky single that scored Tommie Agee, and another when Wegener balked in Agee from third in the fifth inning.

From there, it was a nail-biting test of endurance, with neither team crossing the plate in the next six innings. Ron Taylor relieved McAndrew in the top of the 12th, and Agee threw out Remy Hermoso at the plate for the last out of the inning. In the bottom half of the 12th, the Expos’ Bill Stoneman came on for a rare relief appearance. Cleon Jones singled with two outs and moved to second on Rod Gaspar’s walk, and Ken Boswell proved the hero with a game-winning RBI single.

Mets 3, Expos 2 (1, 12 inn.).  W: Taylor (8-4)  L: Stoneman (9-17)

Meanwhile, the slumping Chicago Cubs were on their way to another loss. Starter Ken Holtzman left after seven innings with his team trailing 3-2, and reliever Phil Regan poured gasoline on the fire by allowing three more runs without recording a single out. After winning 10 of his first 11 decisions, Holtzman has now lost nine of his last 15.  Rick Wise tossed a complete game for the Phils, allowing just one unearned run.

Phillies 6, Cubs 2.  W: Wise (13-11)  L: Holtzman (16-10)

With the second game of the Mets-Expos doubleheader underway, the home fans took to watching the out-of-town scoreboard. When the electronic “F” flashed to signal the end of the Cubs game, the Mets fans began to dance in the aisles.  Regardless of the outcome of the nightcap, the Mets were now assured of waking up the next morning in first place. The scoreboard operator ran a celebratory message that seemed aimed just as much to the rest of the league as it was to the Shea faithful: LOOK WHO’S NO. 1.

In the third inning of game two, Jerry Grote’s leadoff double sparked a 6-run rally, and Nolan Ryan made the lead hold up en route to a 7-1 blowout. Ken Boswell recorded three hits, with Art Shamsky and Bud Harrelson each tallying two. When John Bateman flied out to Rod Gaspar for the final out, the Mets had moved into a full-game lead in the National League East.

Mets 7, Expos 1 (2).  W: Ryan (6-1)  L: Reed (6-6)

NL EAST STANDINGS

                                                 W    L    T   PCT    GB    RS   RA
New York Mets                   84   57    0  .596     -   565  494
Chicago Cubs                     84   59    1  .587   1.0   656  532

Friday, September 6, 1969

Billy Williams had a monster day for the Cubs, going 4 for 4 with two home runs. Unfortunately for Chicago, Pirates starter Steve Blass no-hit the rest of the lineup as his team routed the Cubs. Blass himself provided the biggest punch in the Pittsburgh lineup, as he went 4 for 5, homered, and drove in three runs. Don Kessinger was the only Cubs player beside Williams to reach base – twice on walks.

Pirates 9, Cubs 2.  W: Blass (14-8)  L: Holtzman (16-9)

Tom Seaver won his 20th game of the season and Jerry Grote hit a two-run home in Game One against the Phillies at Shea. Seaver and Al Weis also notched RBIs.

Rick Wise outpitched Jim McAndrew in Game Two, striking out 11 Mets in 9 innings.

Mets 5, Phillies 1 (1).  W: Seaver (20-7)  L: Jackson (12-14)

Phillies 4, Mets 2 (2).  W: Wise (12-11)  L: McAndrew (6-6)

***

NL EAST STANDINGS

                                               W    L    T   PCT    GB    RS   RA
Chicago Cubs                    84   54    1  .609     -   642  496
New York Mets                  78   57    0  .578   4.5   533  485

Wednesday, August 26, 1969

Jerry Koosman dominated the punchless San Diego lineup, limiting the Padres to just two hits, one on Ollie Brown’s solo shot, across nine innings as the Mets won for the sixth time in a row and twelfth in thirteen games.  Koosman also singled and scored on Cleon Jones two-run double in the third inning.

With the Cubs losing, the Mets moved to within just two games of Chicago and are now tied in the loss column.

Mets 4, Padres 1.  W: Koosman (12-8)  L: Kirby (3-18)

***

Alex Johnson and Lee May each had two hits and a home run, combining for five RBI, as the Reds beat up on Ken Holtzman and the Cubs. Ron Santo hit his 27th home run of the season. Chicago has now lost four straight.

Reds 6, Cubs 3.  W: Cloninger (9-14)  L: Holtzman (15-8)  SV: Carroll (7) 

NL EAST                               W    L    T   PCT    GB 
Chicago Cubs                    78   52    1  .600     -  
New York Mets                  74   52    0  .587   2.0

Tuesday, August 19, 1969

What a day for pitching!

For 13 1/3 innings, San Francisco’s Juan Marichal performed heroically as he kept the Mets scoreless while striking out 13 New York batters along the way.

Then up stepped Tommie Agee, who had gone 0 for 5 against Marichal to that point. The Mets centerfielder drove a pitch over the Shea Stadium fence to give the Mets a 1-0 victory. Gary Gentry pitched 10 shutout innings himself, and Tug McGraw added for of his own to earn the win.

Cleon Jones went 3 for 5 on the day for the Mets, who managed just 6 hits in 14 innings.

Mets 1, Giants 0 (14 inn.).  W: McGraw (6-2)  L: Marichal (14-9)

***

Ken Holtzman tossed nine innings of hitless baseball against the Braves, retiring Hank Aaron on a ground ball to second for the game’s final out.  Ron Santo’s first-inning three-run homer proved to be all the scoring at Wrigley.

It was a rare feat accomplished by Holtzman, who lodged his no-hitter without striking out a single batter. But the Cubs defense played flawlessly, and only three Giants reached base on walks.

Cubs 3, Giants 0.  W: Holtzman (14-7)  L: P. Niekro (16-11)

NL EAST STANDINGS

Team                             W    L    T   PCT    GB
Chicago Cubs                    76   45    1  .628     -
New York Mets                   67   51    0  .568   7.5

Sunday, July 13, 1969

Ken Holtzman shut out the Phillies in the first game of a doubleheader, and Jim Colburn, making his Major League debut, picked up a victory while going 5 1/3 innings and allowing 3 runs. Don Kessinger was 2 for 5 with 2 RBI in the first and scored twice in the second.  Glenn Beckert was 3 for 4 and Ron Santo struck a 2-run shot in the first game.  Ernie Banks was the hitting star of the second game, going 2 for 3 with 4 RBI. Billy Williams scored twice in the nightcap, as well.

Cubs 6, Phillies 0 (1). W: Holtzman (11-5)  L: Fryman (8-6)

Cubs 6, Phillies 4 (2).  W: J. Colburn (1-0)  L: L. Palmer (0-1)  SV: Nye (2)

***

At Shea, Jerry Koosman recorded a complete-game win in the opening end of a doubleheader with the Expos. Cleon Jones, Art Shamsky and Ed Kranepool each went 2 for 3.

The second game was a wild affair, with starters Nolan Ryan and Howie Reed both getting touched for 6 runs in 3 1/3 inning and neither figuring in the decision. Tommie Agee hit a leadoff home run and then followed with a 3-run blast to cap a 5-run rally in the 4th inning. Agee also scored the go-ahead run in the 7th on Ron Swoboda’s single and the insurance run on Wayne Garrett’s single in the 8th. The Mets centerfielder finished the game with 3 hits, 4 runs scored, and 4 RBI in 4 at-bats.

Mets 4, Expos 3 (1).  W: Koosman (7-5) L: J. Robertson (2-7)

Mets 9, Expos 7 (2). W: Koonce (3-3)  L: McGinn (4-9)  SV: Taylor (7)

***

Team Name                        W    L    T    GB   
Chicago Cubs                    56   34    1    -  
New York Mets                   49   36    0   4.5

Wednesday, July 9, 1969

Tom Seaver flirted with perfection, and now the Mets are flirting with the unimaginable – a run at first place.

It was clear from the first inning onward that the Mets’ young ace brought his good stuff to the ballpark.  He struck out Don Kessinger to start the game and retired the side in order in the first. In the bottom of the inning, Tommie Agee led off with a triple and rookie Bobby Pfeil followed with a double off Chicago’s Ken Holtzman to score the game’s first run.  Although the Mets would add three more in the game, one on a Cleon Jones homer, Agee’s was all they would need as Seaver pitched the game of his life.

New York’s 24-year-old hurler struck out the side in the second. He sent the Cubs down 1-2-3 in the third, and then again in the fourth.  As he would later comment, “I was aware from the fourth inning on that I had a perfect game, and I was going for it.”

By 1969, only eight pitchers in the entire history of baseball had recorded a perfect game – that is, allowing not one opposing batter to reach base on either a hit, walk, error, or getting hit by a pitch.  That’s nine consecutive 1-2-3 innings…27 batters up, 27 batters out.

After he got relief pitcher Ted Abernathy on strikes to end the top of the 6th, Seaver had gone through the Chicago lineup twice without a blemish. He took on the top of the order again in the seventh, getting Don Kessinger and Glenn Beckert on flyouts and Billy Williams on a groundout. Ron Santo flied out to lead off the eighth.  Still going strong, Seaver struck out both Ernie Banks and Al Spangler. 

When Seaver came to bat in the bottom of the inning, the game stopped for nearly two minutes as the Shea crowd stood in applause for the most dominant performance by a Mets pitcher they had ever seen.

In the top of the ninth and the game all but in hand, Seaver took the mound just three outs from baseball immortality. He got Randy Hundley out weakly, pitcher to first. Up next was the 8th-place hitter, Jim Qualls, a seldom-played rookie who brought a .244 average into the game. Seaver wound up and delivered a pitch, and Qualls blooped it into leftfield for a soft hit, not far from where Ed Kranepool’s game-winner had landed the previous night.

The quest for the perfect game was over, but the home crowd stood and cheered again in recognition of Seaver’s outstanding night. Visibly disappointed, he collected his emotions and retired pinch-hitter Willie Smith on a foul pop-up and then got Don Kessinger to fly out to leftfield for the game’s final out.

Seaver’s pitching performance would go down in Mets memory as The Imperfect Game. “That was the best game I ever pitched,” he’d later say. “It was better than my no-hitter with Cincinnati. I had great stuff that night, superb control, and a mastery of all my pitches. It was obvious even before the game.”

And it was now obvious that the Chicago Cubs had serious competition in the N.L. East.

Mets 4, Cubs 0.  W: Seaver (14-3)  L: Holtzman (10-5)

Chicago Cubs                 AB   R   H RBI      BB  SO 
Kessinger ss                  4   0   0   0       0   2
Beckert 2b                    3   0   0   0       0   0
Williams lf                   3   0   0   0       0   1
Santo 3b                      3   0   0   0       0   1
Banks 1b                      3   0   0   0       0   2
Spangler rf                   3   0   0   0       0   3
Hundley c                     3   0   0   0       0   0
Qualls cf                     3   0   1   0       0   0
Holtzman p                    0   0   0   0       0   0
  Abernathy p                 2   0   0   0       0   2
  W. Smith ph                 1   0   0   0       0   0
Totals                       28   0   1   0       0  11

New York Mets                IP     H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR BFP
Seaver W (14-3)               9     1   0   0   0  11   0  28

Team Name                        W    L    T   PCT    GB
Chicago Cubs                    52   33    1  .612     -
New York Mets                   47   34    0  .580   3.0
Pittsburgh Pirates              41   43    0  .488  10.5
St. Louis Cardinals             42   45    0  .483  11.0
Philadelphia Phillies           37   45    0  .451  13.5
Montreal Expos                  26   58    0  .310  25.5