The New York Mets and Chicago Cubs are like two ships passing each other in the National League East.  The Mets are sailing upward while the Cubs are steadily sinking.

The Mets downed the Expos for the third time in two days at Shea, this time behind a dominant performance by Gary Gentry. The 22-year-old righthander hurled a six-hit shutout, striking out nine while walking only two to even his season record.  Meanwhile, New York’s leadoff man Tommie Agee collected two hits and scored twice, fellow Alabama native Cleon Jones also crossed the plate twice, and Ken Boswell, yesterday’s extra-inning hero, went 2 for 3 with an RBI.

Mets 4, Expos 0.  W: Gentry (11-11)  L: Robertson (5-13)

Meanwhile, the Cubs remained in a rut in Philly. Dick Selma carried a 2-1 lead into the bottom of the 8th inning, but Tony Taylor collected his third hit of the day with a leadoff double, John Briggs followed with a double to tie the game, and then slugger Dick Allen struck a home run to put the home team up by two. Willie Smith homered in the top of the ninth off starter Jeff James (who made his first appearance of the season) to draw Chicago within one, but Grant Jackson came on to get the final out.

Phillies 4, Cubs 3.  W: James (1-0)  L: Selma (12-7)  SV: Jackson (1)

Since August 13, when the Mets were in third place in the division and 9 1/2 games behind Chicago, New York has won 23 of 29 games while the Cubs have struggled at a pace of 10-17. 

NL EAST

                                             W    L    T   PCT    GB  
New York Mets                 85   57    0  .599     -  
Chicago Cubs                   84   60    1  .583   2.0

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The Giants looked like they’d won this game with a run in the top of the 10th inning, but then the Cubs struck back for two in the bottom of the frame to send the Wrigley faithful home happy.

With the score tied 2-2 after nine, Willie Mays singled in Bobby Bonds for the go-ahead run. It could have been worse but Rich Nye came on and got Ken Henderson to ground into a bases-loaded double play, third to catcher to first, to end the inning.

Starter Juan Marichal, still going in the tenth inning, retired the first two Cubs batters and was just one out away from victory. But Willie Smith walked and then Don Kessinger, Glenn Beckert, and Billy Williams all singled to score the tying and winning runs.

Bill Hands had started for Chicago and gave up just 2 runs in 8 2/3 innings.

Cubs 4, Giants 3 (10 inn.)  W: Nye (2-4)  L: Marichal (13-6)

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Don Kessinger and Billy Williams both collected 3 hits and Willie Smith struck a 3-run homer as Ferge Jenkins and the Cubs beat the visiting Phillies.

Cubs 7, Phillies 4. W: Jenkins (12-6)  L: Wise (6-7)  SV: Regan (8)

Team Name                        W    L    T    GB
Chicago Cubs                    54   34    1     -
New York Mets                   47   36    0   4.5

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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

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A pair of 5-run rallies in the 2nd and 3rd powered the Expos over the Cubs at Jarry Park. Ken Holtzman took just his 3rd loss of the season after surrendering 9 hits and getting charged with 9 runs (2 unearned) in just 3 2/3 innings.  Bob Bailey doubled twice and had 3 RBI for Montreal, while Gary Sutherland scored three times and knocked in 2.  Don Kessinger and Willie Smith each went 3 for 5 in a losing effort.

Expos 11, Cubs 4.  W: Renko (1-1)  L: Holtzman (10-3)  SV: Face (4) 

The Mets dropped a doubleheader in St. Louis. Steve Carlton pitched the Cards to a 4-1 win in the opener, allowing just 3 hits while striking out 9. Nolan Ryan had trouble finding the plate, walking 7 and suffering his first loss of the year.

In the nightcap, the Mets scored 3 runs off starter Mike Torrez in the 1st inning, but St. Louis charged back with 8 runs off starter Jack DiLauro and reliever Don Cardwell. Cleon Jones, Art Shamsky, Wayne Garrett and Don Clendenon each recorded 2 hits in the second game.

Cardinals 3, Mets 1 (1).  W: Carlton (9-5)  L: Ryan (3-1)

Cardinals 8, Mets 5 (2).  W: Torrez (2-4)  L: DiLauro (0-3)  SV: Hoerner (8)

Team Name                        W    L    T   PCT    GB
Chicago Cubs                    49   28    1  .636     -
New York Mets                   40   34    0  .541   7.5

Monday, June 30, 1969

Dave Lemonds took the loss in his first start for Chicago after leaving with 2 outs in the 3rd.  The rookie gave up just 2 runs but allowed 4 hits and 3 walks to the host Expos before departing. Phil Regan and Ted Abernathy yielded another 3 runs over the next 3 innings, as Coco Laboy led the Montreal charge with 2 hits and 3 RBI.

Expos 5, Cubs 2.  W: H. Reed (3-1)  L: Lemonds (0-1)  SV: McGinn (3)

Jerry Grote’s 3-run blast highlighted a 6-run Mets rally in the opening innning in St. Louis. Rod Gaspar went 2 for 4 with 2 runs and 2 RBI, and  Art Shamsky added a home run. Jim McAndrew started and finished the game for New York, allowing 2 runs on just 3 hits and while also singling in 2 runs in the 6th inning.

Mets 10, Cardinals 2.  W: McAndrew (2-2)  L: Briles (6-7)

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Bob Gibson struck out 10 batters but Fergie Jenkins got the win Sunday afternoon at Wrigley.

Jenkins gave up just 3 hits and 1 run, while Willie Smith was the hitting star for Chicago, going 3 for 4 with a homerun and 2 RBI.

Game two was a blowout. The Cubs pounded out 12 runs while starter Dick Selma got a complete-game,10-strikeout win. Ernie Banks hit a 3-run homer in the 1st. Ron Santo was 3 for 4 with a homerun and 5 RBI.  And Billy Williams was 4 for 5 with a double, triple, 3 runs and 3 RBI. Williams appeared in his 895th and 896th straight game to break Stan Musial’s NL record.

Cubs 3, Cardinals 1 (1).  W: Jenkins (10-5)  L: Gibson (10-5)

Cubs 12, Cardinals 1 (2). W: Selma (8-3)  L: Grant (4-8)

***

With Tom Seaver on the mound, 7 Mets runs were plenty against Pittsburgh. Recent acquisition Don Clendenon, who came into the day hitting just .118 as a Met,  went 2 for 4 with 3 RBI, and Cleon Jones and Ed Charles both knocked in 2. Tommie Agee scored twice.

Mets 7, Pirates 3.  W: Seaver (12-3)  L: Veale (4-9)

Team Name                        G    W    L    T   PCT    GB   

Chicago Cubs                    76   49   26    1  .653     -  

New York Mets                   71   39   32    0  .549   8.0  

Saturday, June 28, 1969

Bill Hands gave up just 3 hits and 1 run to St. Louis at Wrigley. Willie Smith and Don Young both homered for the Cubs.

Cubs 3, Cardinals 1.  W: Hands (8-6)  L: Giusti (3-7)

***

A 5-run Pirates rally in the 8th inning broke open a Saturday night game at Shea. Cleon Jones went 3 for 4, scored twice, and drove in a run in a losing effort. Ed Kranepool had 2 hits and 2 RBI, and Al Weis added 2 hits and an RBI.

Pirates 7, Mets 4.  W: Bunning (7-5) L: Gentry (7-6)  SV: Gibbon (4)

Friday, June 27, 1969

The Cubs rapped out 10 hits but managed only 1 run against Steve Carlton and the Cardinals. The St. Louis lefty tossed a complete game and worked around trouble by striking out 12 Chicago batters. Ken Holtzman gave up jst 2 runs in 7 innings but took his second loss of the season. Ron Santo went 2 for 4 and knocked in Paul Popovich for the only Cubs run.

Cardinals 3, Cubs 1.  W: Carlton (8-5)  L: Holtzman (10-1)

***

Steve Blass outpitched Jerry Koosman in a pitcher’s duel at Shea Stadium. The Mets managed only 3 hits, with J.C. Martin driving in Art Shamsky for the sole New York tally.

Pirates 3, Mets 1.  W: Blass (8-4)  L: Koosman (5-5)  SV: Gibbon (3)

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A late, 3-run rally give Chicago’s Ken Holtzman his 10th win of the season.

Holtzman went seven innings while allowing just 1 run, but his team trailed 1-0 going into the top of the 7th in Atlanta. Pinch-hitter Willie Smith led off the 8th with a home run off Braves starter Ron Reed, and after Al Spangler singled, Ron Santo’s home run put the Cubs in front. Phil Regan took over from there to close out the win in this first game of the road trip.

Both Spangler and Santo went 2 for 4 in the winning effort.

Cubs 3, Braves 1  W: Holtzman (10-1)  L: Reed (5-5)  SV: Regan (6)

***

Tommie Agee went 4 for 5 with 3 runs and 3 RBI to lead the Mets to their 11th consecutive victory.

San Francisco’s Mike McCormick and reliever Ron Herbel both proved ineffective on the mound.  Jerry Grote and Mets starter Don Cardwell both went 3 for 3, and Cleon Jones knocked in 3 runs as New York beat the host Giants.  Cardwell pitched well through eight innings but faltered in the 9th, giving up 3 runs before giving way to reliever Ron Taylor.

Mets 9, Giants 4  W: Cardwell (2-4)  L: McCormick (3-3)  SV: Taylor (5)

***

Team Name                        W    L    T   PCT    GB
Chicago Cubs                    37   17    1  .685     -
New York Mets                   29   23    0  .558   7.0

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Ken Holtzman had another rocky outing but again the Cubs still came away with the win.

Chicago scored 6 runs in the 3rd inning off Atlanta starter Pat Jarvis, the big blow coming on Randy Hundley’s 3-run shot. But Holtzman gave up two 2-run homers, one to a unusual suspect (catcher Bob Tillman) and one to a very usual one (Hank Aaron) and failed to make it out of the 5th inning.

Dick Selma came on to pitch 4 2/3 scoreless innings in relief, though, to earn the win as the Cubs pulled away from the Braves and completed a three-game sweep. Ron Santo had a monster day with 3 hits and 4 RBI.  Billy Williams (who also homered), Ernie Banks, and Willie Smith had 2 basehits apiece for the home town, and Jim Hickman added a home run of his own. The Braves’s Orlando Cepeda had 3 hits.

Cubs 13, Braves 4  W: Selma (5-3)  L: Jarvis (5-3)

***

Willie McCovey homered for the third consecutive game against the Mets but New York emerged with the win and the series sweep at Shea.

With the score tied 4-4 going into the bottom of the 9th, Giants reliever Joe Gibbon walked the bases loaded and then walked Ron Swoboda to force in Bud Harrelson with the winning run.

Neither starter had fared well. Bobby Bolin was fortunate to give up only 4 runs in surrendering 8 hits and 3 walks in just 4 1/3 innings. Meanwhile, the Mets’s Jim McAndrew was similarly lucky after giving up 3 hits and 4 walks that led to 2 runs (1 unearned) in 1 2/3 innings.  Manager Gil Hodges brought in Don Cardwell, who pitched a strong 6 1/3 innings while giving up 2 runs. Ron Taylor pitched the 9th and got the win in relief.

Both Harrelson and Swoboda went 2 for 4, and Jerry Grote was 2 for 3 with a triple. Ed Kranepool had an RBI single.

Mets 5, Giants 4  W: Taylor (1-0)  L: Gibbon (1-3)

NL EAST STANDINGS

Team Name                        W    L   PCT    GB
Chicago Cubs                    33   16  .673     -
Pittsburgh Pirates              25   23  .521   7.5
New York Mets                   22   23  .489   9.0
St. Louis Cardinals             22   25  .468  10.0
Philadelphia Phillies           18   25  .419  12.0
Montreal Expos                  11   33  .250  19.5

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Fergie Jenkins was just a little better than Phil Niekro today at Wrigley.

Jenkins went the full 9 innings and gave up just 2 runs. After rain delayed the beginning of the game, Braves slugger Hank Aaron got the scoring started with a first-inning home run. Cubs centerfielder doubled and later scored on a fielder’s choice in the 6th. Sonny Jackson scored on Mike Lum’s sac fly in the 7th to briefly regain the lead for Atlanta, but Ernie Banks led off the bottom of the inning with a single and then scored on an error by Clete Boyer.

Niekro took the 2-2 tie in the bottom of the 9th, when Ron Santo led off with a game-changing triple. Niekro issued 2 free passes to load the bases and set up a possible force play at home and then struck out pinch-hitter Willie Smith. But Young came to bat again and singled in the game winner and gave the home crowd reason to be happy they’d waited out the weather.

Cubs 3, Braves 2  W: Jenkins (7-2)  L: Niekro (7-4)

***

Willie McCovey was only half as good as Ed Charles today at Shea.

McCovey’s 2-run blast off New York’s Gary Gentry, the first baseman’s 15th of the year, scored ex-Met Ron Hunt ahead of him and gave Frisco a brief 2-0 lead. But the Mets struck right back. After Ed Kranepool single and Ron Swoboda walked, Ed Charles sent a Gaylord Perry offering over the fence for  3-run homer.

In the 8th, Charles added the the lead he’d given the Mets. After Wayne Garrett singled and Cleon Jones bunted him over to second, Charles came to bat with 2 outs and singled into centerfield to give the Mets an insurance run, his 4th RBI of the game. 

Gentry evened his record with 7 strong innings and Tug McGraw finished off the Giants with 2 shutout frames to earn his first save.

Mets 4, Giants 2  W: Gentry (4-4)  L: Perry (7-5)  SV: McGraw (1)

NL EAST STANDINGS

Team Name                        W    L    PCT    GB

Chicago Cubs                    32   16   .667     -
Pittsburgh Pirates              24   23   .511   7.5
New York Mets                   21   23   .477   9.0
St. Louis Cardinals             21   25   .457  10.0
Philadelphia Phillies           18   24   .429  11.0
Montreal Expos                  11   32   .256  18.5

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Gary Gentry gave up 12 hits but was never really worried during Saturday’s game at Crosley Field.

That’s because the Mets knocked out 14 hits of their own and had staked Gentry to a 10-0 lead before he gave up any runs to the Reds, which he didn’t do until the 6th.

Cleon Jones hit a 3-run homer in a 4-run 1st inning for New York. J.C. Martin would add a 2-run shot in the 3rd inning to give the Mets a 6-run cushion. The Amazins piled on 4 more runs over the next two innings. Jones finished with 4 RBI, Tommie Agee scored 3 runs and knocked in another, and Wayne Garrett had two hits and produced 6 total runs on the day.  New York has now crept to within one game of the .500 mark.

Mets 11, Reds 3  W: Gentry (3-3)  L: Maloney (3-1)

***

Fergie Jenkins never made it out of the 5th inning in the Astrodome on Saturday.

The Chicago ace took a 3-1 lead in the bottom of that inning but fell into trouble after giving up a double to Jesus Alou. Johnny Edwards’s single scored Alou, and the Jenkins seemed to get rattled after the Cubs failed to convert an out on picther Don Wilson’s sacrifice bunt. Jenkins walked Joe Morgan to load the bases, Norm Miller singled in Edwards. Leo Durocher gave Jenkins the hook and brought in Phil Regan, but Jimmy Wynn’s sacrifice fly plated another run.

Pinch hitter Willie Smith tied the game with a single to score Don Young in the 6th, but Don Nottebart let the first two batters to face him in the home 6th to reach on singles, and Doug Rader scored on Joe Morgan’s sacrifice fly off Ted Abernathy with what proved to be the winning run. Houston’s Fred Gladding pitched 3 shutout innings to earn the save. Glenn Beckert had 3 hits and Billy Williams had 2 RBI in the loss.

Astros 5, Cubs 4  W: Nottebart (1-1)  L: Wilson (3-4)  SV: Gladding (3)

NL EAST STANDINGS

Team Name                        W    L   PCT    GB
Chicago Cubs                    24   12  .667     -
Pittsburgh Pirates              17   17  .500   6.0
New York Mets                   17   18  .486   6.5
St. Louis Cardinals             15   19  .441   8.0
Philadelphia Phillies           14   18  .438   8.0
Montreal Expos                  11   20  .355  10.5

“RECREATING THE MIRACLE SEASON” is a look back at the storied division race between the Chicago Cubs and New York Mets in 1969.  Keep checking back throughout the 2009 season to get the game stories from 40 years ago to the day. This on-going feature is brought to you by the book 1969: The Year Everything Changed, available now from Skyhorse Publishing.

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