Cardinals news from a Sabermetric point of view

Great moments in the Cardinals-Mets rivalry

Date Event
8/7/63 In the Mets 7-3 win over the St. Louis Cardinals‚ Jim Hickman hits for the cycle‚ doing it in order. Both are firsts for the New York Mets.
7/18/64 Ken Boyer‚ Bill White‚ and Tim McCarver of the Cards hit consecutive 8th-inning HRs in a 15-7 bombing of the Mets.
9/23/64 The Mets surprise the Cards and Roger Craig‚ 2-1‚ scoring the winner on an error. The Cards only run is Bill White’s homer off Galen Cisco. Cards manager Johnny Keane is quoted as saying he has no idea whether he will be asked to return as Cards manager next year.
10/2/64 The Mets end an 8-game St. Louis win streak when Al Jackson beats Bob Gibson 1-0‚ but the Cards remain a half game in front of the Reds.
10/3/64 The Cardinals lose 15-5 to the Mets and fall into a first-place tie with the idle Reds.
10/4/64 The Phils bomb the Reds 10-0 as both teams finish one game behind St. Louis. The 2 teams then sit in the visitor’s clubhouse and hope that New York’s Galen Cisco (6-18) can stop the Cards. The Mets take a 3-2 lead into the 5th inning‚ but St. Louis scores 3 runs to regain the lead. The Mets score once more but the Cardinals complete their scoring with 3 in the 8th to win 11-5. Bob Gibson wins in relief. For St. Louis‚ it is their 1st pennant since 1946.
5/4/66 The Mets Jack Hamilton just misses a no-hitter as he beats the Cardinals 8-0. The only Bird bingle is a 2-strike bunt by pitcher Ray Sadecki that catches Mets 3B Ken Boyer playing back.
5/20/67 Mets reliever Jack Hamilton hits his only ML homer‚ a grand slam off Al Jackson‚ but it is not enough as the Cardinals win‚ 11-9.
6/2/68 Sweeping a doubleheader 6-3 and 3-2 at New York’s Shea Stadium‚ the Cardinals take first place. They will remain atop the NL the rest of the season.
7/22/68 At St. Louis‚ the Mets and the league-leading Cardinals exchange shutouts‚ with St. Louis winning the opener 2-0‚ behind Bob Gibson’s 7th whitewash of the year. It is Gibson’s 32nd‚ tying the franchise mark set by Spittin’ Bill Doak. Gibson (13-5) strikes out 13 in recording his 10th straight win. He has allowed 2 runs in 88 innings. Koosman (13-5) bests Nels Briles in the nitecap‚ 1-0‚ on Martin’s RBI single.
9/15/69 Steve Carlton of the Cardinals fans a ML-record 19 batters and still loses. Ron Swoboda hits a pair of 2-run HRs‚ and New York beats St. Louis 4-3.
9/22/69 Tom Seaver‚ who has not lost since early August‚ tops the Cardinals’ Nelson Briles for a 3-1 victory. In game 2‚ Buddy Harrelson singles off Bob Gibson in the 11th inning to give the Mets a 3-2 win. With the Cubs losing to Montreal 7-3‚ the Mets now lead the NL East by 6 games with 6 to play.
9/8/72 In the first game of a doubleheader with the Cardinals‚ the Mets win 8-2 as John Milner collects a homer‚ double‚ and three singles in five at-bats. Milner had another HR in the 1st inning of game 2‚ but the Cards turn around‚ using a pair of homers in the 13th to win‚ 9-4.
8/30/73 After a 10-inning 1-0 loss to Cardinals‚ the last-place Mets drop to 61-71. They’ll finish at 82-79 and make it to first place in the NL East.
9/11/74 The Mets lose a marathon night game after 7 hours 4 minutes‚ and 25 innings‚ the longest game to a decision in ML history. Two Mets errors lead to the Cardinals’ winning run starting with an errant pickoff throw that allows Bake McBride to scamper all the way around from 1B. St. Louis wins‚ 4-3. The Mets go to the plate 103 times‚ the only time the century mark has been reached in a ML game; the Cards are not far behind with 99 plate appearances. All told‚ a record 175 official at-bats are recorded‚ with a ML record 45 runners stranded. Only a thousand fans are on hand when the game ends at 3:13 a.m.
4/17/75 During a 14-7 loss to the Mets‚ the Cardinals Ted Simmons homers from both sides of the plate‚ while teammate 2B Ted Sizemore ties a ML record with 3 errors in the 6th inning.
5/30/78 In his first ML start for the Cardinals‚ Silvio Martinez hurls a one-hit 8-2 victory over the Mets. Steve Henderson homers in the 7th inning for the lone safety. Martinez will spin 2 one-hitters and two 2-hitters this season.
9/28/79 Switch-hitting Cardinal SS Garry Templeton collects 3 hits against the Mets and becomes the first player to get 100 hits from each side of the plate. During the last 9 games‚ he batted exclusively righthanded to set the record.
6/15/83 In what will turn out to be a terrible trade for St. Louis‚ the Cardinals trade 1B Keith Hernandez to the Mets for pitchers Neil Allen and Rick Ownbey.
9/3/84 Bruce Sutter breaks the NL record for saves in a season with his 38th in the Cardinals’ 7-3 win over the Mets.
4/9/85 In his first game as a member of the Mets‚ catcher Gary Carter hits a solo home run in the bottom of the 10th inning to give New York a 6-5 Opening Day win over the Cardinals at Shea Stadium.
9/10/85 Moments after a bench-clearing incident‚ Howard Johnson hits a grand slam to give the Mets a 5-4 win over the Cardinals in the tense NL East race.
9/11/85 John Tudor allows 3 hits in 10 innings for his 3rd consecutive shutout‚ outdueling Dwight Gooden and the Mets 1-0 to move St. Louis back into a first-place tie with New York in the NL East. Cesar Cedeno’s 10th-inning homer provides the game’s only run.
10/1/85 In the first game of a 3-game showdown between the Mets and Cardinals‚ Ron Darling and John Tudor each pitch 10 shutout innings before Darryl Strawberry belts a titanic home run off reliever Ken Dayley. The Mets’ 1-0‚ 11-inning win cuts the Cardinals’ lead in the NL East to 2 games.
10/2/85 In a duel of 20-game winners‚ Doc Gooden (24-4) beats Joaquin Adujar (21-11) to pull the Mets to a game in back of the Cardinals.
4/27/86 The Mets win their 9th consecutive game 5-3 at St. Louis‚ and in the process end John Tudor’s 18-game winning streak at Busch Stadium. Kevin Mitchell hits his first ML home run for the Mets.
4/18/87 In a wild game in St. Louis‚ the Cards come back from a one-run deficit in the 9th to tie at 7-7 on Ozzie Smith’s steal of 3B and score on a wild throw by the Mets’ Carter. The Mets score in the 10th on a wild pitch to move ahead 8-7. Jesse Orosco‚ who gave up the unearned run in the 9th‚ gives up three singles to knot the score at 8 apiece. With the sacks full‚ Jesse serves Tommy Herr a game-winning grand slam for St. Louis. Howard Johnson has a 3-run homer and 4 RBI for the Mets.
4/19/87 Cardinals ace John Tudor suffers a broken leg when Mets catcher Barry Lyons crashes into the St. Louis dugout while chasing a foul pop. Tudor‚ who was not pitching in the 4-2 Cardinals win‚ will be sidelined until August 1st.
9/11/87 Howard Johnson steals his 30th base of the season in the Mets 6-4‚ 10-inning loss to the Cardinals‚ becoming the 8th player ever to hit 30 HRs and steal 30 bases in a season. Mets starter Ron Darling tears ligaments in his thumb while fielding a Vince Coleman bunt during the game and will miss the rest of the season.
1/29/89 The game-winning RBI is dropped as an official statistic after 9 years of use. The Mets Keith Hernandez is the all-time leader with 129.
4/3/89 The Mets win their 11th consecutive home opener 8-4 over St. Louis at Shea Stadium. New York has won on Opening Day in 18 of the last 20 seasons. Dwight Gooden is the winner‚ helped by a home run by Howard Johnson.
8/1/89 Behind the pitching of Sid Fernandez‚ the Mets blank the Cardinals‚ 11-0. Kevin McReynolds paces the offense by hitting for the cycle.
12/5/90 Free-agent OF Vince Coleman signs a 4-year contract with the Mets. He has led the NL in stolen bases each of the last 6 seasons‚ and this year (June 3rd) copped his 500th theft in his 804th game‚ the quickest player to reach that plateau.
6/3/91 The Mets pick up Jason Isringhausen on the 44th round of the MLB draft.
8/14/91 Jeff Reardon of the Red Sox and Lee Smith of the Cardinals both reach the 30-save level for the 6th season. Reardon notches his in a 2-1 win over Cleveland‚ while Smith saves St. Louis’ 5-4 victory over the Mets.
9/15/91 Cardinals rookie Ray Lankford hits for the cycle in a 7-2 win over the Mets.
4/6/92 Mets reliever Jeff Innis is credited with the win over the Cardinals in NY’s 4-2 Opening Day victory. In 1991‚ Innis became the only pitcher in baseball history to appear in at least 60 games with neither a win nor a save.
4/9/92 On the 1st pitch of the Mets-Cardinals game‚ Vince Coleman and Donovan Osborne are both injured when Coleman beats out a bunt for a hit. Coleman sustains a strained left hamstring while running and Osborne sprains his left ankle while covering on the play in his major league debut. Both players are eventually forced to leave the game.
6/27/92 The Mets edge the Cards with all the runs coming on homers: Gallagher and Jones match dingers‚ and Howard Johnson’s homer in the bottom of the 9th makes John Franco (6-0) a winner. It is Johnson’s last homer of the year.
4/26/93 Mets P Dwight Gooden hurts his shoulder when he is struck by a golf club teammate Vince Coleman is swinging in the clubhouse.
6/24/93 The Mets tie an 86-year-old record when they lose to the Cardinals‚ 8-5. They have not won 2 straight games for the 61st consecutive time.
4/6/96 The New York Mets spot the Cardinals 6 runs‚ then roar back for a 7-6 win‚ the biggest Opening Day comeback this century.
4/25/96 The Mets bang 3 homers in the 7th and score 8 runs to bury the Cardinals‚ 9-3. Jose Vizcaino leads the way with 4 hits. He sets a team-record of 9 straight hits over 3 games‚ but strikes out his last at bat.
8/22/99 At Shea‚ the Mets and Cardinals split a DH‚ with NY winning the opener‚ 8-7‚ and St. Louis taking the nightcap‚ 7-5. Mark McGwire hits 2 HRs in the 1st game‚ his 49th and 50th of the season. Number 49 breaks a light bulb in the scoreboard‚ 502 feet away. This gives him a major league record 50 or more HRs for 4 straight seasons.
10/11/00 The Mets defeat the Cardinals‚ 6-2‚ in the opener of the NLCS behind the pitching of Mike Hampton. Todd Zeile and Jay Payton hit 9th-inning homers for New York‚ whose pitchers had their streak of 26 consecutive scoreless ended by 2 unearned runs in the 9th.
10/14/00 The Cardinals defeat the Mets‚ 8-2‚ for their 1st win in the NLCS. Andy Benes gets the win for St. Louis as all 9 Cardinal starters get hits.
10/15/00 The Mets defeat the Cardinals‚ 10-6‚ to take a commanding 3-games-to-1 lead in the NLCS. NY strokes a record 5 doubles in the 1st inning‚ and Mike Piazza slams a HR for the Mets. Glendon Rusch gets the win with 3 scoreless innings in relief.
10/16/00 The Mets defeat the Cardinals‚ 7-0 behind Mike Hampton‚ to win their 1st pennant since 1986. Hampton takes NLCS MVP honors with his 16 scoreless innings and 2 victories. Todd Zeile drives home 3 runs with a bases loaded double for NY.
4/28/01 Hot-hitting Albert Pujols ties the ML record for HRs in April by a rookie with 8 but his Cardinals fall to the Mets‚ 6-5 in 11 innings.
8/22/06 The Mets’ Carlos Beltran hits a two-run homer in the ninth inning, putting a rousing ending to a game of grand-slam derby between Albert Pujols and Carlos Delgado and rallying the Mets over the St. Louis Cardinals 8-7. The Cardinals once led 7-1 in the game, with Pujols accounting for all seven RBIs.

Special thanks to Baseball Library.