Game 21: May 8, 1964 (St. Louis at Mets)

Mets' Popgun Offense Their Undoing Again, 2-1

Flushing, NY-- Ones were wild on the scoreboard last night at Shea Stadium, but they did the Mets absolutely no good.

The Mets' final line read: 1 run, 11 hits. Lots of ones, but they all added up to another loss as the St. Louis Cardinals beat them, 2-1.

It was the eighth straight loss for the 2-19 Mets.

The good news: the Mets raised their team BA from .220 to .224.

The bad news: they still can't push runners across the plate.

"It's like there's a force field between third and home," moaned left fielder Frank Thomas, who has two RBI in 82 at-bats.

The Mets nursed a 1-0 lead until the seventh, when the Cardinals struck for two runs--thanks to a two-run double by starting pitcher Ernie Broglio, who with one swing of the bat matched Thomas' RBI output for the season.

"That's the way it's been going," manager Casey Stengel said of his team's struggles.

Broglio pitched seven-plus innings, surrendering nine hits but just one run--a double off the bat of catcher Jesse Gonder that scored Ron Hunt in the fifth.


Broglio helped his own cause with a two-run double in the seventh


Hunt had two hits to lift his average to a team-leading .292.

Mets starter Jack Fisher was as inefficient as Broglio--giving up 10 hits in 7.1 innings--but Broglio's double was his undoing.

Fisher is 0-5 with a 6.82 ERA, down from 8.06 before yesterday.

The Mets have still yet to win in their new ballpark. falling to 0-7 at home.

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Mets record: 2-19, .095 (Last 10: 1-9; streak: L-8); Actual: 5-16

Home: 0-7; Away: 2-12

Runs scored: 55

Runs against: 126

Game 20: May 7, 1964 (Cincinnati at Mets)

Maloney, Reds Throttle Mets, 8-2

Flushing, NY-- Jim Maloney made one mistake and it left the ballpark. Other than that, he was superb---and even his mistake didn't prove costly.

Maloney pitched a four-hit complete game, leading the Cincinnati Reds to an easy 8-2 victory over the hapless New York Mets yesterday at Shea Stadium.

Maloney struck out six, walked one---and surrendered a two-run homer to Hawk Taylor, his only mistake of the afternoon.

"Couldn't do a thing with him," Mets manager Casey Stengel said of Maloney's performance. "But then again, he haven't been able to do a thing with anyone this year."

The Mets fell to 2-18 in losing their seventh straight.

Until the ninth, Maloney had only given up the home run to Taylor in the fourth inning and a single to Frank Thomas in the seventh.

Vada Pinson slugged a two-run, inside-the-park homer for the Reds. Pinson finished with three RBI.

Cincinnati jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the third, partly thanks to two Mets errors in the frame.

After Taylor drew the Mets to within 3-2, the Reds added two runs in the fifth and three more in the eighth to coast to victory.

Maloney: one mistake, lots of success

The Mets remain winless in their new ballpark, falling to 0-6 at home.

"This is unbelievable," Thomas said of his team's offensive struggles. The Mets have scored just 54 runs in their first 20 games. "All we can do is keep plugging away."

"Everyone is trying to be the hero," Ron Hunt said. "That's what happens in a hitting slump---people try to do it all and it just makes things worse."

As for Maloney, he doesn't see the Mets as a laughingstock, despite their record.

"Any big league team can beat you," Maloney said. "I take every opponent seriously. After I gave up the homer, I was mad and just went after them."

The Mets best not make any pitcher mad, apparently---as if they don't have enough problems.

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Mets record: 2-18, .100 (Last 10: 1-9; streak: L-7); Actual: 4-16

Home: 0-6; Away: 2-12

Runs scored: 54

Runs against: 124

Game 19: May 6, 1964 (Cincinnati at Mets)

Stranded! Mets Score Two Runs on 11 Hits, Fall to Reds, 3-2

Flushing, NY-- Gordie Coleman's two-out single in the eighth inning scored Pete Rose with the go-ahead run, and the Cincinnati Reds held on to beat the Mets, 3-2, last night at Shea Stadium.

The Mets (2-17) stranded 10 runners in dropping their sixth straight.

The Mets' Charlie Smith hit his second home run in the seventh, a solo shot, to tie the game at 2-2, but reliever Galen Cisco couldn't keep the Reds off the board in the next inning.

The Mets had the bases loaded in the fourth with one out and a run in, but failed to cash in. They left two runners on base in both the sixth and eighth innings.

"It's so hard for us to score some gol-dang runs," Mets manager Casey Stengel said. "It's like pulling teeth---and I studied to be a dentist, so I know."

The loss went to Cisco, who fell to 0-2 with a 6.23 ERA.

"I let the boys down again today," Cisco said. "I made a bad pitch and he (Coleman) did what he was supposed to do."

Tim Harkness had three hits for the Mets, while Ron Hunt went hitless to continue his slump, which is now 5-for-29 to bring his BA from .346 to .288.

The Mets have now scored a paltry 52 runs in 19 games.

"Is it any wonder that we're 2-17?" Stengel asked.

Nope.

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Mets record: 2-17, .105 (Last 10: 1-9; streak: L-6); Actual: 3-16

Home: 0-5; Away: 2-12

Runs scored: 52

Runs against: 116

Game 18: May 5, 1964 (Mets at Milwaukee)

Mets Blow Three-Run Lead in Ninth, Fall to Braves in 13 Innings

Milwaukee-- The art of losing just got another exhibit in its museum.

The stumbling New York Mets suffered one of their most painful losses of this season yesterday in Milwaukee, blowing a 7-4 lead in the ninth before succumbing to the Braves, 9-7, in 13 innings at County Stadium.

Felipe Alou slugged a two-run homer off Jack Fisher to win it for the Braves in the 13th, after the Mets let their third win of the season slip through their butter fingers in the ninth.

Fisher, normally a starter, came on in the 13th because the Mets' depleted bullpen was running out of arms.

Fisher retired leadoff hitter Joe Torre, but then catcher Ed Bailey walked, setting up Alou's heroics.

The Braves erased a 7-4 deficit in the ninth off beleaguered reliever Larry Bearnarth.

With a man on first and one out, Mets second baseman Ron Hunt bobbled Lee Maye's ground ball, putting runners on first and second. But Eddie Mathews popped up, and the Mets were one out away from victory.

It was one out too many.

Hank Aaron lasered a double into the left center gap, scoring Maye and Ty Cline. Torre was up next, and he singled home Aaron to tie the game.

Alou's 13th-inning homer capped a great Braves comeback

The Mets built their lead by overcoming a 3-0 deficit with three runs in the second, two in the fourth, and two more in the ninth---the latter of which were supposed to be insurance runs.

Frank Thomas had three hits and an RBI for the Mets (2-16), who lost their fifth straight.

The Mets chased Braves starter Warren Spahn after just four innings.

"What can you say?" Mets manager Casey Stengel opined after the gut-wrencher. "Today was the story of us. When we play, I don't breathe for nine innings. Or 13, like today."

The Mets' 12-game road trip has finally come to an end. They went 1-11 on it.

"I'd like to say we're glad to go home, but we haven't won there, either," Stengel said.

The Old Professor is right; the Mets are 0-4 in new Shea Stadium.

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Mets record: 2-16, .111 (Last 10: 1-9; streak: L-5); Actual: 3-15

Home: 0-4; Away: 2-12

Runs scored: 50

Runs against: 113

Game 17: May 4, 1964 (Mets at Milwaukee)

Mets Come From Ahead Again and Lose, 4-3

Milwaukee-- The Mets haven't enjoyed very many leads this season, and the ones they've held have usually proven to be unsafe.

Such was the case last night in Milwaukee.

The Mets couldn't hold a 3-1 lead in the seventh inning as the Braves chipped away and eventually won in the bottom of the ninth, 4-3.

Catcher Ed Bailey singled home Hank Aaron from second base with one out in the ninth, giving the Braves the victory.

Bailey, who had four hits, was being pitched to thanks to an intentional walk to first baseman Joe Torre.

Mets manager Casey Stengel was playing for an inning-ending double play, but defied the odds, having right-handed reliever Larry Bearnarth skip facing the righty-batting Torre in order to pitch to the lefty-swinging Bailey.

"I'd do the same dadgum thing again," Stengel explained defiantly after the game. "Yes sir, I would."

The Mets (2-15) lost their fourth in a row.

Ron Hunt's solo home run in the fifth gave the Mets their 3-1 lead, behind the clutch pitching of starter Galen Cisco, who got out of one jam after another.

The Braves scored single runs in the seventh, eighth and ninth to erase the deficit and win.

Cisco went one batter into the eighth before being lifted. He surrendered nine hits and struck out three, walking just one.

In the Braves' ninth, with one out, Aaron doubled to right center. That's when Stengel elected to walk Torre ("He's not chopped liver," Stengel said) in order to pitch to Bailey, despite the catcher's three straight hits.

Bailey made it four by dropping a flare into short right field. Aaron, displaying smart base running skills, easily beat Jim Hickman's throw home.

Bailey's fourth straight hit doomed the Mets

The Mets' seemingly interminable road trip (12 games) ends today in Milwaukee. So far, they're 1-10 on it.

Clay Carroll pitched a scoreless ninth to earn the victory for the Braves.

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Mets record: 2-15, .118 (Last 10: 1-9; streak: L-4); Actual: 3-14

Home: 0-4; Away: 2-11

Runs scored: 43

Runs against: 104

Game 16: May 3, 1964 (Mets at Cincinnati; DH #2)

Queen, Pinson Dingers Lead Reds to DH Sweep

Cincinnati-- Now it just takes two swings to beat the Mets.

The Reds' Mel Queen and Vada Pinson each hit home runs, and they accounted for the three runs necessary to beat the Mets, 4-2 and complete a doubleheader sweep at Crosley Field.

The Mets fell to 2-14 in what has fast become a nightmare season---already.

The Mets drew first blood off Reds starter John Tsitouris.

Tim Harkness led off the game with a single, and promptly stole second base. With two outs, George Altman knocked Harkness in with a clean single to right.

But that 1-0 lead didn't last long; no Mets lead ever does.

In the second, right fielder Queen ripped a fastball from Mets starter Jay Hook over the right field wall with Gordy Coleman on first base with a walk, moving the Reds ahead 2-1 and they never looked back.

Pinson went deep against Hook in the fifth, putting the Reds ahead 4-1.

Tsitouris went seven strong, giving up six hits, two runs and walking only one

"He was solid," Reds manager Fred Hutchinson said

The Reds committed two errors to the Mets' none, but it didn't matter as the Mets continue to sink like a stone.

"Our boys are scuffling," Mets manager Casey Stengel said. "They are all gripping the bats like they're trying to squeeze blood out of it."

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Mets record: 2-14, .125 (Last 10: 1-9; streak: L-3); Actual: 3-13

Home: 0-4; Away: 2-10

Runs scored: 40

Runs against: 100