National League Standings, September 2, 1997
METS FANS SHARE THEIR MEMORIES OF THE SEPTEMBER 2, 1997 GAME:
Chris Mog
November 5, 2006
Clemens always finds a way to get rocked at Shea. Not to mention Rey Ordonez' first career home run at Shea. I never forgot how that ball literally went over the fence by an inch.
Dave VW
November 6, 2023
The Mets really tried hyping this game up, what with Clemens pitching for the Jays and the team playing some strong baseball at the time while nipping at the Marlins' heels for the wildcard spot. But alas, they couldn't even draw 20,000 on this night. Perhaps because it was a weeknight and it was very humid? Whatever the case, fans missed out on a good one here.
After Brian McRae started the 1st inning by hitting a double that was too hot for Carlos Delgado to handle at 1B, Clemens then struck out the side. But his luck ran out quick, as the Mets manufactured a pair of runs in the 2nd when Ed Sprague threw too high coming home trying to get Bernard Gilkey out at the plate, and then Ordonez reached on a safety squeeze to score Carlos Baerga. The Mets plated 4 more in the 3rd, as Gilkey rocked a 2-run double, Baerga drove him in with another double, and Ordonez dropped down a perfectly executed suicide squeeze to get Baerga in. Roger then allowed another run on an RBI single by McRae in the 6th. The 7 runs allowed were his most in 1997, and the 10 hits tied his season high. All told, in non-playoff starts against the Mets, Clemens would go 3-6, while his teams would only win 3 of his 11 starts.
On the other side, Juan Acevedo started for the first time as a Met. He was wild but got big outs when he needed them. Despite earning the win and only allowing 1 earned run, he was sent back to the bullpen and only started one more time for the team before he was traded during spring training in 1998. Turk Wendell worked the final 4 innings and gave up a pair of home runs to Jose Cruz Jr. but still earned the save.
Of course, the other big news from this game was Ordonez's home run. He hit it off Kelvim Escobar, who was a rookie at the time and this was actually the first homer he allowed in the majors. It was also the first of only two HRs Rey would hit at Shea. Chris is right, the ball just got over the wall in the LF corner beyond Cruz's leaping attempt. The reaction of the Mets in the dugout was hilarious and it was a great cherry on top of another feel-good win in 1997.
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