Chavez Ravine, CA-- You could have made a mint on this one in Las Vegas.
The 6-28 Mets against the great Sandy Koufax?
Imagine the surprise of so many people this morning when they woke up to the news: the Mets used clutch hitting and clutch pitching and beat Koufax and the Los Angeles Dodgers, 7-2, to take the rubber game of the three-game series.
The Mets (7-28) are 5-6 in their last 11 games, and they're gaining a little confidence.
"We know we can play with these teams," outfielder Jim Hickman said. "We just have to start winning more games and we'll feel even better about ourselves. But it's getting better."
Koufax surrendered four unearned runs, but that doesn't change the fact that the Mets got key hits and were able to make the Dodgers pay for their three errors.
Tied 1-1 in the seventh, an error by third baseman Junior Gilliam opened the floodgates for the Mets, who scored three runs after two were out. The big blow was a two-run triple by Joe Christopher. Hickman had three RBI, including a solo home run in the ninth.
In the fourth, Ron Hunt came around to score after reaching base thanks to an error by Maury Wills.
"Mistakes can kill you in this game," Dodgers manager Walt Alston said. "And they (the Mets) proved it tonight."
The Mets' Hickman says the team is gaining confidence
Koufax struck out eight in seven innings of work, but the Mets continually came up with big base hits to tack on more runs.
After the Dodgers pulled to within 4-2 in their half of the seventh, the Mets struck for two runs in the eighth and Hickman's home run in the ninth to keep the Dodgers at bay.
It was only the second series win for the Mets in 1964.
The Mets' .200 winning percentage is their highest since starting the season 1-4.
"There's a long way to go," Hickman said. "Too early to pack it in. I think the guys are feeling better about themselves now."
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Mets record: 7-28, .200 (Last 10: 4-6; streak: W-1); Actual: 10-25
Home: 2-11; Away: 5-17
Runs scored: 97
Runs against: 188
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