Houston, TX-- Jim Owens pitched with a lot of traffic on the base paths in Game 1 of Saturday's doubleheader, but the Houston Colt .45s right-hander didn't let any of that traffic come home as he shutout the Mets, 1-0.
The Mets looked to be blanked in Game 2, too, but a three-run ninth inning salvaged a split, 3-1.
In the opener, Owens only had one 1-2-3 inning as the Mets couldn't get that one clutch hit, and the Pennsylvanian pitched a complete game, eight-hit shutout.
The lone run in the game came in the bottom of the ninth off Mets reliever Bill Wakefield---when a single by Bob Lillis scored Eddie Kasko, who had doubled.
Owens was also helped by two double plays turned by his infield.
In Game 2, the Mets were on the verge of being shutout again, trailing 1-0 going into the top of the ninth. This time the Colt .45s pitcher was Ken Johnson, who was working on a seven-hit complete game. Had the Colts won, they would have swept a doubleheader while only scoring two runs all day.
But the Mets' offense finally woke up, exploding for three runs, helped along by two Houston errors. The big blow was a two-run, one-out double by Frank Thomas.
Bill Wakefield pitched a quiet ninth to gain the save for winning pitcher Bobby Locke.
The win in Game 2 was the Mets' fourth in six games, improving their record to 9-29.
"I've been around baseball since the beginning of time," Mets manager Casey Stengel said, "but I ain't never seen a team sweep a doubleheader while only scoring two runs."
Thankfully, the Perfesser still hasn't seen it.
Thomas's clutch double in the ninth inning of Game 2 salvaged a DH split
The Mets' ninth inning in Game 2 started with a single by pinch-hitter Jesse Gonder. Amado Samuel followed with another single, and when left fielder Al Spangler bobbled it, Gonder moved to third and Samuel took second.
Rod Kanehl was up next, and his groundball was muffed by shortstop Lillis, scoring Gonder with the tying run. Ron Hunt was hit by a pitch from reliever Hal Woodeshick, loading the bases with nobody out.
Woodeshick coaxed a short fly ball from George Altman that failed to score a run. But then Thomas delivered, driving a ball into the right-center field gap to plate Samuel and Hunt.
The series concludes with a single game on Sunday.
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Mets record: 9-29, .237 (Last 10: 5-5; streak: W-1); Actual: 11-27
Home: 2-11; Away: 7-18
Runs scored: 105
Runs against: 193
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