NewsOctobers have been kind to Mets
New York (68-92) vs. Houston (74-86), 1:10 p.m. ET
By Marty Noble / MLB.com
10/03/09 12:30 AM EST
NEW YORK -- The Mets' long wait to play in October ended Friday night as unceremoniously as their past two Septembers ended and with just about the same sense of satisfaction. October was beyond their reach in 2007 and '08. Not this season, but only because the calendar and the schedule-maker conspired to put games 160-162 in Reggie's month.October has been rather kind to the Mets through the years. Including their 7-1 victory against the Astros on Friday night, their winning percentage in the 10th month is .561 in regular-season games, their highest monthly percentage other than their .600 for five games in March. Indeed, the Mets have a winning percentage greater than .500 in only one other month -- April (.501)
The 1986 Mets won their five October games to reach 108 victories, and the '72 Mets won five of six.
Even if they lose to the Astros on Saturday and Sunday, they would have an overall winning October record of 52-42-2. And the Mets' winning percentage in postseason games -- all 72 games were played in October -- is better at 591. Fact is, though they have lost in two World Series, they have had merely one losing October in the postseason. They lost four of seven games to the Dodgers in 1988.
Otherwise, their cumulative record for each postseason has been: 7-1 in 1969, 6-6 in '73, 8-5 in '86, 5-5 in '99, 8-6 in 2000 and 6-4 in '06.
Now they just have to find a way to get back to October, the real October.
Pitching matchupNYM: LHP Pat Misch (2-4, 4.71 ERA)
From a most unlikely source, the Mets received their first shutout from a starter in more than a calendar year when Misch beat the Marlins on Sunday in Miami. Having never reached the eighth inning in his 15 big league starts, Misch pitched an eight-hitter against an accomplished offensive team, walking three, striking out two and retiring the final 13 batters. The complete game was the Mets' second of the season. Their previous shutout had been pitched one year, to the day, earlier, by Johan Santana, also against the Marlins. Misch hasn't faced the Astros since May of last year. He pitched six innings then, allowed three runs and lost. HOU: RHP Yorman Bazardo (1-2, 8.23 ERA)
Bazardo is coming off an adequate performance against the Phillies on Monday in Citizens Bank Park that earned him his first victory in the big leagues since Sept. 25, 2007, when he defeated the Twins as a member of the Tigers. He allowed two hits, four walks and two runs in 5 2/3 innings. The start was his fifth; the Astros have won three of the five. He has been marginally more effective on the road -- a 7.41 ERA in 17 innings, as opposed to 9.58 in 10 1/3 at home -- and against left-handed hitters -- a .273 opponents batting average in 44 at-bats, as opposed to .328 in 61 against right-handed hitters. A virtual unknown to the Mets, Bazardo produced a 9-6 record and 3.20 ERA in 23 games with the Astros' Triple-A Round Rock affiliate before he was promoted in August.
Tidbits
The Mets, who lead the league in walks allowed, walked none for the fifth time this season on Friday. ... John Maine has won six straight starts at home. His streak is the longest by a Mets pitcher since Sid Fernandez won six straight at Shea Stadium in 1990. During the stretch, Maine has not allowed more than one run in any game and has produced an 0.75 ERA in 36 innings. ... Pinch-hitter Nick Evans' triple in the seventh inning was the Mets' 47th three-base hit of the season. It equaled the franchise record established in 1978 and matched 18 years later. It was the Mets' 30th triple at home, extending the franchise record. It was also Evans' first career triple. ... Daniel Murphy hit the second pinch-hit home run of his career in the eighth inning. His other pinch-hit homer came Aug. 9, 2008, at home against the Marlins. The home run was the fifth of the season by a Mets pinch-hitter. ... In his most recent 21 games, Jeff Francoeur is batting .378 with 17 runs scored, eight doubles and three home runs. ... David Wright had three hits in three at-bats against left-hander Wandy Rodriguez and now is batting .416 (47-113) against left-handed pitching, the highest average in the big leagues.
This date in Mets history -- October 3: The Mets played 22 innings in a doubleheader against the Phillies at Shea Stadium on this date in 1965, losing each game, 3-1, one day after playing 27 innings -- and not scoring -- in two games against Philadelphia. The second game of the first doubleheader -- it lasted 18 innings -- ended in a scoreless tie. It was called because of a New York City curfew.
On this date in 1976, the Mets ended their seventh winning season in eight years with a 2-1 loss to Steve Carlton in Philadelphia. It was their fifth straight defeat. In retrospect, the losses constituted an omen, they were a precursor to a seven-season sequence that was the bleakest period in franchise history. Beginning with the five season-ending losses in '76, the Mets produced a .440 winning percentage, five last-place finishes and two next-to-last-place finishes before Davey Johnson's first team initiated a renaissance in 1984.
On this date in 1985, the Mets lost to the Cardinals in St. Louis and fell two games behind them with three games remaining. Keith Hernandez had five hits and drove in two runs in the 4-3 loss. ... The '93 Mets ended their season with a sixth straight victory on this date, a 9-2 decision against the Marlins in Miami. Eddie Murray drove in two runs for the fourth straight game and finished with 100 RBIs for the sixth and final time in his career. The Mets finished with a 59-103 record, equaling the worst by an established team in an expansion season. That record was exceeded by the Marlins' 54-108 in 1998.
The '99 Mets played their final regular-season game against the Pirates at Shea Stadium on this date. They won, 2-1, scoring the decisive run with one out in the ninth inning when Brad Clontz threw a wild pitch with Melvin Mora on third base and Mike Piazza in the batter's box, poised to be the hero. ... The Reds won later that night in Milwaukee and tied the Mets for the Wild Card lead. The Mets won the Wild Card the following night in Cincinnati. Al Leiter pitched a two-hitter in the 5-0 victory that put the Mets in the postseason for the first time in 11 years.
On this date in 2006, Orlando Hernandez pulled a muscle in his right calf. The injury caused him to be scratched as the Mets' starting pitcher in Game 1 of the Division Series against the Dodgers. Maine started in El Duque's stead, and the Mets won. But Hernandez, like Pedro Martinez, was unavailable for the postseason.
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• Sunday: Mets (Nelson Figueroa, 2-8, 4.70) vs. Astros (Wilton Lopez, 0-1, 9.42), 1:10 p.m. ET
Marty Noble is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
