Schwei's Mets Stats: Marathon Games, Stranded In St. Louis And More
By John Schweibacher
» More Columns
The New York Mets salvaged the final game of their first series after the All-Star break, outlasting the NL Central-leading Cardinals 3-1 in 18 innings in St. Louis on Sunday afternoon.
The marathon was the Mets' third-longest game in terms of innings played against the Cardinals:
· 9/11/74 Cards 4 at Mets 3, 25 innings
· 4/17/10 Mets 2 at Cards 1, 20 innings
· 7/19/15 Mets 3 at Cards 1, 18 innings
· 4/19/76 Mets 4 at Cards 3, 17 innings
· 9/29/93 Cards 0 at Mets 1, 17 innings
The Mets' stretch against NL division leaders continues this week with three games in Washington against the Nationals and four this weekend against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Mets have not fared well so far this season against teams that are currently in a postseason spot, including the Yankees, who the Mets will face again in September:
· Mets vs. Washington 3-4
· Mets vs. St. Louis 3-4
· Mets vs. LA 2-1
· Mets vs. Pittsburgh 0-3
· Mets vs. Chicago 0-7
· Mets vs. NYY 1-2
· Mets vs. teams in playoff spots: 9-21
· Mets vs. teams out of playoffs: 39-23
Randal Grichuk had two homers and six RBIs, and Jason Heyward went 5-for-5 as St. Louis beat the Mets 12-2 on Saturday night.
Heyward became the eighth St. Louis Cardinal to have at least five hits in a game against the Mets:
· 7/18/15 Mets 2 at Cards 12 Jayson Heyward 5-for-5, 2B
· 7/26/08 Cards 10 at Mets 8 (14) Skip Schumaker 6-for-7
· 7/26/08 Cards 10 at Mets 8 (14) Albert Pujols 5-for-8, HR
· 8/8/04 Mets 2 at Cards 6 Edgar Renteria 5-for-5, 2B
· 6/26/90 Mets 8 at Cards 6 Terry Pendleton 5-for-6, 2B
· 4/19/76 Mets 4 at Cards 3 (17) Bake McBride 5-for-8, 2 2B's
· 9/5/63 Mets 0 at Cards 9 Curt Flood 5-for-5, 3B
· 5/26/63 Mets 4 at Cards 7, Ken Boyer 5-for-5, 2 2Bs
Grichuk was just the fourth Cardinal to drive in six or more runs in a game against the Mets:
· 7/18/15 Mets 2 at Cards 12 Randal Grichuk 3-for-3 HR, 6 RBIs
· 8/22/06 Cards 7 at Mets 8 Albert Pujols 2-for-4, 2 HRs, 7 RBIs
· 5/26/91 Cards 14 at Mets 4 Tom Pagnozzi 4-for-6, 2B, 3B, 6 RBIs
· 4/18/87 Mets 8 at Cards 12 Tom Herr 3-for-3, HR, 6 RBIs
Curtis Granderson hit his fifth leadoff home run of the season in Friday night's 3-2 loss at St. Louis. It was just the third time in Mets' history that their first batter after the All-Star break connected for a homer.
On July 12, 1990, Howard Johnson led off with a home run against the Reds' Rick Mahler in an eventual 10-3 win at Riverfront Stadium.
Seventeen years later, on July 12, 2007, Jose Reyes went deep to lead off the bottom of the first (and Ruben Gotay, batting second, followed with a homer as well) against Bronson Arroyo of the Reds, as the Mets beat Cincinnati 3-2 at Shea Stadium.
The Mets' two losses at Busch Stadium dropped their all-time regular season record there to 12-20 since it opened in 2006. The Mets have posted worse won-loss records in just six other past and present ballparks in which they have played at least as many games:
· Sportsman's Park 9-29 .237
· Crosley Field 20-51 .282
· County Stadium 15-33 .313
· Forbes Field 24-50 .324
· Petco Park 14-26 .350
· Turner Field 56-103 .352
· Busch Stadium II 12-20 .375
Jacob deGrom struck out the side in the top of the sixth inning of the All-Star Game on just 10 pitches. The reigning NL Rookie of the Year became the fifth Mets pitcher to strike out the side in an All-Star Game. Here are the Mets pitchers and the AL All-Stars they fanned in one inning in the mid-summer classic:
· 2015 at Cin Jacob deGrom: Stephen Vogt (Oak), Jason Kipnis (Clv), Jose Iglesias (Det)
· 1986 at Hou Sid Fernandez: Brook Jacoby (Clv), Jim Rice (Bos), Don Mattingly (NYY)
· 1984 at S.F. Dwight Gooden: Lance Parrish (Det), Chet Lemon (Det), Alvin Davis (Sea)
· 1972 at Atl Tug McGraw: Reggie Jackson (Oak), Norm Cash (Det), Bobby Grich (Bal)
· 1968 at Hou Tom Seaver: Boog Powell (Bal), Mickey Mantle (NYY), Rick Monday (Oak)
DeGrom was the Mets' only All-Star this season. It was the eighth time in club history the only Mets player selected to appear in the All-Star game was a pitcher:
· 1967 Tom Seaver
· 1978 Pat Zachry
· 1983 Jesse Orosco
· 1992 David Cone
· 1994 Bret Saberhagen
· 1997 Bobby Jones
· 2003 Armando Benitez
· 2015 Jacob deGrom
Happy Recap: Jon Niese. Lefty now has a 1.23 ERA in his last four starts, giving up four runs in 29 1/3 innings as he became the 12th pitcher in club history to throw more than 1,000 career innings for the Mets.
Nine Miles of Rough Road: The Mets tied their franchise record for stranding men on base with 25 in 18 innings against the Cardinals. The Mets also left 25 stranded in a 25-inning loss to St. Louis in 1974.
