Extra-Inning Games in 2015

[Benjamin Grimm]

The Mets have played 28 games so far this season, and all of them have ended after nine innings. Have the Mets ever gone this deep into a season with no extra-inning games? The answer is yes, twice.

The record is 33 games, set in 1981. That record run ended with Game 34 on May 20, when the Mets beat the Giants 4-3 at Candlestick Park in 10 innings. Lee Mazzilli scored on a sac fly from the bat of Alex Trevino, and Jeff Reardon held on to close out the win. (He was the winning pitcher because he had also pitched the ninth.)

The previous record had been 31 games, set in 1977 with a streak that was snapped in Game 32 on May 15, a 4-3 loss to the Dodgers at Shea. A footnote here is that not all of the first 31 games went nine innings; there was a seven-inning game at Candlestick on May 8, a 10-0 loss in the second game of a double-header sweep by the Giants.

The Mets didn't play an extra-inning game in 1988 until Game 26 and waited until game 23 in 2009.

If the Mets can make it through the two upcoming series in Philadelphia and Chicago without playing an extra-inning game, they'll set a new club record. I wonder if Gary or Howie know about this?

[Frayed Knot]

They've also neither won, nor lost, a game via walk-off - something that may not be a record but is probably longer than usual as well.
Both conditions are particularly odd this year as they've been in so many close games.
18 games have been decided by 2 runs or fewer. They've lost by more than two runs just 3 times, and won by more than two 7 times.

[Edgy MD]

It'll be known in the future as "The Year of Short Games." I think Terry change pitchers mid-inning in the ninth last ninth just to help out the venders.

[Ceetar]

Edgy MD wrote: It'll be known in the future as "The Year of Short Games." I think Terry change pitchers mid-inning in the ninth last ninth just to help out the venders.

bah, the vendors generally bail by the 7th anyway.

[seawolf17]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: I wonder if Gary or Howie know about this?

Well, they certainly will now.

(Hi, Gary and Howie!)

[Frayed Knot]

Turns out that this is already the [u:gkd9fbdk]4th longest[/u:gkd9fbdk] into a season without a game ending in a walk-off.

In 1977 they waited until their 42nd game (a loss, Pittsburgh's Richie Hebner HR'd off Skip Lockwood) and their 51st game to win one that way (Milner scores on a wild pitch).

In 1981 it was game #29 (we'll match that tomorrow) also a loss. That year took until game #91 until we won one (Mookie HR's off Bruce Sutter!!) which was the latest walk-off win in any season.

But to find the deepest into a season the Mets have ever gone without a walk-off either way you need to go all the way back to 2011 when Dale Thayer gave up a run in Milwaukee in the bottom of the 9th in the 61st game of the year. 13 games later they got their first w-o win (Justin Turner gets HBP w/bags loaded by Oakland's Brad Ziegler).


More often than not the first walk-off of the season occurs in the first 10 games of the season (34 times in 54 years) including seven times on opening day [3 wins, 4 losses].

[Benjamin Grimm]

From 2011: Dearth of walkoffs

[Edgy MD]

I saw an interview where Mookie named that homer as his greatest baseball memory.

I assume he was being contrarian, or wanted to give them a non-post-season answer. Or maybe it just feels really awesome to hit walkoff homers.

[Frayed Knot]

From 2011: Dearth of walkoffs

Ahh, I probably shouldn't be surprised that this topic has been tackled before.

I saw an interview where Mookie named that homer as his greatest baseball memory. I assume he was being contrarian, or wanted to give them a non-post-season answer. Or maybe it just feels really awesome to hit walkoff homers.

Considering it was his first full year (full-ish year anyway seeing as how it was the strike year) in the majors and only his 3rd ever HR, that a come-from-behind (Mets had given up 1 in top-9) game winner against the division rival/1st place Cardinals gets tagged as a favorite probably isn't all that odd.
I wonder what Keith thought as Mookie flew by him at 1B: 'Hey, who's this chucker?'.



Because of the strike, game #91 didn't come until Sept 20 and the Mets wound up with only 3 w-o wins that season: Mookie's game, then the very next night, and then nine days later with just 5 games left in the season.
Cardinals wound up with the best winning pct in the NL East that year but won neither 'half' and so didn't advance to the expanded playoffs that year. They lost the 2nd half to Montreal by 1/2 game. Way to spoil a party Mookster!

[Frayed Knot]

Game 39 ... a new record!