This was the game in which Darryl Strawberry wore Gooden's pants in honor of his teammate who was in Smithers institute. I guess they helped him as he hit a 3-run HR in the first inning.

One of only 2 opening days between 1985-1994 that Gooden wouldn't start, this one because of his drug suspension. Ojeda wasn't great on this day, but he was good enough. And the Mets got all the offense they'd need on a first inning homer by Straw.

Orosco would make it interesting in the 9th, putting the tying and go ahead runs on base before finally getting a ground ball to Backman for another opening day Mets win.

I remember watching this game on TV because it's the day Gary Carter got his 1,000th career RBI.

Back to back home runs by Strawberry and McReynolds in the fourth. I found cigarettes in the soda I bought at an upper deck concession stand and had a terrible physical reaction to say the least.

The first NBC game of the season, and the Mets debut of David Cone, who pitched 3 innings and got the loss in his first game with the team. A tough 9th inning defeat to a poor Braves team, which would happen a few more times during the 1987 season, a forgotten reason why the Mets didn't repeat as division champs.

This was the game in which Dion James killed a pigeon with a fly ball. He hit it toward McReynolds in left, who lined up for the catch, but watched in disbelief as the ball struck the bird and, both bird and ball plopped in front of him. It was a bad sign for Ojeda and the Mets, who went on to get pounded with Sisk (who else) taking the brunt of it.

Rafael Santana carried the deceased bird off the field.

I watched this game on TV. There was a lot of doom and gloom in my family life at the time, and I remember this particular day was gloomy grey day. I usually like overcast days, but on this day, we had to go to some party, so I couldn't watch the game at home; I had to watch it in some strange house (at least they had the game on).

I still remember the mortally wounded bird clearly, and thinking it was really awful, especially to me because I liked all animals. And they showed it on TV, the bird dangling from Rafael Santana's hand! All these years I thought Mookie carried off the fallen bird until I read the previous post.

Now get this: This game was their 5th game of the 1987 season, which means it was Kevin McReynolds first few games as the Mets' left-fielder. On that play, McReynolds, a big duck hunter, lines up to catch a baseball but the ball hits and kills a dove instead. McReynolds must have been loving that moment! I'm surprised he didn't take a knife out gut it right there on the field. He could have asked Rafael for it later in the clubhouse, who knows?

So on top of my personal family issues and the gloomy weather, the Mets lost 12-4 and as Kevin Walsh mentioned in 2002, the bird strike was truly a bad sign for the Mets. I chalk it up to Kevin McReynolds' karma with birds. I always remember this game was another gloomy wake up call that things could (and would) go the other way than they had in 1986.

This game was posted on YouTube 11 days ago, and it's the TBS broadcast. The picture quality is more 1977 than 1987, but it's worth a watch, just for Skip Caray's line:

"I don't know if Dion James plays golf or not, but he already has a birdie on the day."

After his classic joke, Skip Caray mentioned that they had a Vegas bookie generate the odds of a bird getting hit by a batted ball, and it was one in six million. There were other bird-related jokes as well.

The Mets were 3-1 at the beginning of this game. I WAS going to say this game was the beginning of the downfall of the dynasty, but the Mets were still in first place at the end of this game and they stayed in first place until Jesse Orosco's meltdown against the Cardinals. Tom Herr. No need to say more. I know I watched that game on TV, but I have blocked out all memories of that game. I always hated watching Mets games at Busch Stadium because I hated every one of the Cardinals players. Especially Tom Herr.

On the other hand, my young mind thought the 1987 Braves would be a pushover just like the 1986 Braves, but not so. Thanks to a pigeon (it was not a dove of peace as I had thought all these years, just a plain New York City pigeon) and Dion James, this game is one of the few Mets games that I remember from the 1987 season.

First Dion James. Then Tom Herr. Then Tim Raines. And the cherry on top, Terry Pendleton. 1987 was a doozy for a kid who thought the Mets would win the World Series every year.

Tommy Herr won it for the Cardinals in the bottom of the 9th with a walk-off grand slam. The Mets had led this game 5-0 at one time, but blew it. I think at that moment I began to realize 1987 was not going to be like 1986.

You got that right! They blew a 5 run lead as well as one run leads in the bottom of the 9th and 10th innings - the Herr grand slam just put them out of their misery that night. This was the first of what was to be many nights like this in 1987 - climaxed by the infamous "Terry Pendleton game".

As a Cardinals fan, I attended this game and sat in the right field bleachers that night. It was (by far) the most exciting game I ever attended at Busch Stadium. For the small-ball, low-scoring Cards to come back three times in a single game was nearly unheard of. And to close the game with a walk-off grand slam was icing on the cake. That night also happened to be "Seat Cushion Night" at the ballpark, and the fans rained down seat cushions onto the field with each comeback (prompting numerous delays). Busch Stadium has not had another seat cushion promotion since that night. I am probably one of only a few fans who still possesses his coveted seat cushion from that fateful night.

This is the game where Barry Lyons crashed into John Tudor in the Cards dugout, breaking Tudor's leg. Tudor missed three and a half months but the Cards still won the division.

Wally Backman grounded into a 4-3-5-2 triple play in the ninth inning but the Mets won anyway.

One of Sid's best games as a Met as he went the distance in a tense, one-run win. Unfortunately, this would be the only win the Mets would have in their first 7 meetings against the Cards in 1987, a major reason for not repeating.

We show up at the game, park the car, walk towards Gate C and guess what? No tickets, my friend had left them at home. Fortunately, home was right off Kissena Blvd, just 10 minutes from Shea so we walked back to the lot, jumped back into the car, drove home (at accelerated speeds) and returned just in time for the start of the game.

Young David Cone took the start for the Mets, his first after a handful of mop up innings. It wasn't pretty. Glenn Davis popped two longballs and Cone was tattered for ten runs on a rainy night that was not worth the effort taken to get there. We left in the sixth trailing 10-0 and never left home without tickets again!

It was David Cone's first start for the Mets. I was home listening to the radio, he was getting hammered... but Davey Johnson just didn't take him out, I couldn't believe he just let him pitch.

The big story in the early part of the 1987 season was the lively ball. This game was a perfect example of it. Light hitting Dave Magadan hit a routine fly ball that incredibly, carried over the fence. Watching this one on the old tape recently, even he was shocked rounding the bases.

Keith also hit a homer for the 3rd straight game as the Mets offense carried them to an 11-3 win.

This one was one of the two walk off homers that Teufel hit as a Met, and it ended a see-saw game. Darling got rocked pretty good but as was per usual in 1987: the Mets offense bailed out the pitching staff.

This Saturday afternoon at Shea saw one of the worst performances by the Mets bullpen in 1987.

The Mets fell behind early in this game, 3-0, but came back to take a 4-3 lead after four innings. Montreal tied it in the sixth, but the Mets regained the lead 6-4 in the bottom of the sixth on a sac fly by Dave Magadan and an RBI pinch- single by Lee Mazzilli. Gene Walter pitched well in the seventh and eighth to hold the 6-4 lead but he left the game after giving up a leadoff single to Tim Raines in the ninth. In came Doug Sisk, but he allowed another single, then an infield out to make it 6-5, and then the game- tying hit by Vance Law.

But the fun was just starting...Jesse Orosco came in to get the last out, then after the Mets threatened but didn't score in the bottom of the ninth, Jesse came back out to start the tenth. His first four batters in the ninth went single, single, single, grand slam (by Tim Raines). Jesse gave up two more hits before Randy Myers came in and the Expos got another run on a Keith Hernandez error.

The bullpen pitched five innings that day and allowed eight runs and twelve hits.

The infamous Tim Raines game. I recall this being a big deal because Tim Raines had a contract dispute and was playing in his first game of the season. He was pissed off and ready to play, and hit a back breaking grand slam to win the game.

Tim Raines followed up his game winning homer from the day earlier with another homer in this one to continue the beginning of his season. Bobby Ojeda pitched well in one of his last starts of the season before he got hurt. But it was a rare off day for the 1987 Mets offense.

A nationally televised NBC game of the week. Bobby Ojeda left the game with an elbow injury and would miss 4 full months. One of the true signs that 1987 would not be like the year before it.

The Braves complete the -game sweep of the Mets, winning each game by a single run. One of those series that you look back on at year's end with frustration since the season was decided by just a couple of games. Especially since the Mets of that era handled the lowly Braves with relative ease most of the time.

The Mets were off on a 2-0 lead in this one but Eric Davis came up and absolutely clobbered one from Rick Aguilera. It was one of the most monstrous home runs I ever saw in person. The ball landed in the yellow seats at Riverfront Stadium, which is like hitting it high into the mezzanine at Shea stadium. And the Reds beat up on Randy Myers, too.

I don't remember much about this game, but look at Sid's pitching line. no hits for five innings. If you could find the buddy I was with he should be able to tell you I was screaming for Sid to strike out in his second time at bat. Instead he got a double and had to leave the game with a no hitter going, because he hurt his leg running to second base. Tour de Force Sid, Amazingly great but something going absurdly wrong.

Yet another one of those '87 games that reminded you this was not going to be like '86. Jeff Innis made his major league debut in this one. As a 9-year-old, I was always excited when a new Met made his appearance on the scene. I liked him for about an inning, until he gave up a bomb to Jeff Leonard in the 10th. After that, he was like Doug Sisk to me.

After some research, I'm fairly certain this was the first game I ever went to. About a month away from my 7th birthday, my dad took me to the Big Shea. I was just starting to follow baseball during what I believe was my first year of tee ball. There's no doubt I went to this game because I know I was at Nestle Crunch Glove day in 1987. I've been able to determine that all of the other games I have memories of attending in those days were after this one -- so I think I can label 5/16/87 as the day I was officially a Met fan.

Nice tidbit from this game as Giants reliever Jim Gott faced Tim Teufel in the late innings.

Gott in German means God, and Teufel in German is translated to "devil". In this confrontation, "good" beat "evil" as Teufel flew out to center field.

Also, the Mets first win on the weekend in 1987. A weird day all around.

I remember the top of the ninth in this game. The Padres have first and second, 2 outs. The batter hits a comebacker, off Roger McDowell's glove, and everyone's safe. In frustration, McDowell slams the ball into his glove -- but the ball completely misses his glove and goes flying!

Fortunately, Howard Johnson saves it at 3rd. Whew!

The Mets get the next out and win 5-4.

Strawberry pounded a homer off the bottom of the Shea scoreboard in this game, off a pretty low pitch as well. One of his more impressive shots over the years.

I have an odd and patchy memory of a Mets game played in San Diego in the summer of 1987, and I've narrowed down the most likely game to this one, but I'm not sure. It was either this game or the one the night before since I remember it being a late night game played in the summer (the Mets other 1987 series in San Diego was in September).

So in this game, I remember sometime in the middle of the game, Tim McCarver and Steve Zabriskie found someone (or a group of fans) doing something which they thought was HILARIOUS in the San Diego stands. I have no idea what these fans were doing because I was sitting on the floor sorting baseball cards, but I vividly remember hearing McCarver and Zabriskie cackling and my dad getting really mad at them for laughing so much.

I can still see my dad drinking his beer and shaking his head in disgust and saying, "What A'holes." Except he said the real word. However, when I looked at the TV, the shot cut back to the action on the field so I missed what the fans were doing.

Does anyone remember what the heck I'm talking about?

The usually reliable Mets offense wastes what was probably the best start of John Mitchell's career, as he went 7 innings, allowing just a run. Unfortunately the Mets could do nothing against San Diego this afternoon, suffering a 1-0 loss to a Padres team that had been playing some of the worst baseball seen in many years (at this point in the season, they were almost on pace to challange the 1962 Mets).

Jesse Orosco got off to a brutal start in 1987, this game was no different as he gave up 3 runs to lose the game. 87 would be his last year as a Met, and also his worst, sadly. A less than stellar end to a fantastic Mets career.

This was the game where Roger McDowell put his pants on over his head and stood in front of the Mets dugout with his arms swinging around, making a funny highlight that almost all older Mets fans have seen at some point over the years.

As for the game, the Mets were out of this one early, as Darling didn't have it and the Dodgers coasted to an easy win.

Doc Gooden's first game back after cocaine rehab. But it was most memorable for the violent Mookie-Lenny face-to-face collision in left- centerfield. I've still got that one on tape. Sid Bream hit the ball and he couldn't believe Mookie caught it and neither could anyone else. What a trooper Mookie was.

I was at this game - way up in the upper deck behind the plate. It was Doc's first game back after his suspension. Dick Young had written a really negative column - saying that the fans should stand up and boo. Well the fans were chanting "Dick Young Sucks" all night long.

Gooden struck out Barry Bonds swinging as the first batter he faced. Can you imagine that - Barry Bonds hitting leadoff! The crowd went nuts. He really wasn't his dominating self, but the team won.

This was also the night that Lenny and Mookie slammed faces together in left-center. I swear you could hear the "smack" in the Upper Deck. I can't believe both of those guys got up. Ouch!

This was also the game that featured the cheezy Mets-Marvel Comics promotion of "Spider-Man's wedding" where the fans were given copies of the 1987 Amazing Spider-Man Annual #21 where Peter Parker and MJ got married

And the fans were treated to a "live version" of the wedding featuring Spidey and MJ.

First baseball game I attended--sat on the field level behind the Mets dugout. Still remember that collision in the outfield!

I remember the anticipation of the Doctor's return. I was in the Lodge level with about 10 of my buddies from softball team on the 3rd base side. And clearly remember a much skinnier Barry Bonds striking out swinging to lead off the game. The Doc was BACK, or so we thought at the time. The collison looked bad but did not get the real impact until later, on the highlights. This was when Shea was rockin'!

I was 10 years old and although this was not my first Mets game I think it may have been my first awesome Mets game. I remember the Mets- Marvel Comics promotion of the Spider-Man wedding which was stupid; I still have the comic and bag of crap they handed out to fans as they entered Shea.

I remember the collision between Mookie and Lenny, I recall them showing it a few times on the diamond vision board and the whole crowd collectively groaning and wincing. It was a brutal way to get an out!

I remember the focus of the game being that it was Doc's first game back from Rehab. Bonds led off the game and struck out on 3 pitches. (At least in my mind I remember it on 3 pitches and if it wasn’t please don’t email me and tell me it wasn’t!) Our seats were on the middle level above the field level and I will never forget the crowd noise when Doc took the mound in the top of the first. It was amazing, just amazing!

I recall and will never forget a banner that was hanging from the upper deck that read "The Doctor is IN" Awesome memory, thanks Mom and Dad!

This was the first major league ballgame I ever went to. I had been to a number of minor league games but my parents weren't fans of the city so we had never gone down to see the big time. Finally, after my parents had suffered through my pain and ecstasy during the '86 postseason, my father, a lifetime Yankee fan, relented and was willing to spend the day not only in the city, but in enemy territory. My seats were behind home base in the upper deck and I spent the first two innings terrified. I had never been this high up in the air, unprotected by walls. But the view, for a small town boy like me, was majestic.

I was intitally disappointed to discover that Darryl Strawberry wouldn't be starting that day (he was my favorite at the time, until HoJo came along), but the Mets jumped to an early lead and all my worries were forgotten. However, a run in the fourth and a run in the fifth (one of them knocked in by some guy I had never heard of named Barry Bonds) and the game was tied. Then, as if from the pages of myth, Darryl came in to pinch hit in the seventh with one on (Rafael Santana I just learned). I wish I could get all misty eyed and say that it was the sweetest swing I ever saw, but, truth be told I couldn't see the batter's box all that well (too high up and the angle too steep for my 14-year old body to compensate). But I did get to see the ball, and it left that park in a hurry, right over the right field fence. The apple popped out of the hat, the crowd went wild and even my father was forced to applaud. I was convinced it would be like that every time I went to a game.

I remember this game. Darryl didn't play because he was supposedly hungover real bad. He was sick all day throwing up. He came up to pinch hit and hit a bomb. After he got back into the dugout, he went to go throw up again. No joke. It didn't dawn on me why he was sick but it does now. The night before he was out celebrating with his buddy Dwight and some other Mets after Gooden made his comeback from rehab. Still got a win though.

This was banner day. The game was sold out or near as it was the year after the Championship. I went with a great kid from the box in front of us with his banner down the ramps to join the parade. Mets are down 2-1 at the time. We were far enough back on line that we were behind the scoreboard, so we couldn't see anything, but could hear the crowd and the PA system.

The Bucs scored a run at the top of the 8th (Pitt 3 NY 1). The bottom of the 8th lasted (seemingly) forever. The Pirates made two pitching changes and the crowd was screaming. We figured out that the Mets tied it (it turned out to be a 2 run, 2 out Strawberry triple, so you could imagine the noise) when they announced a Pirate batter leading off the top of the 10th. Turns out that Pittsburgh scored in the top of the 10th, but the Mets scored 2 in the bottom of the 10th to win it. The place went wild for a long time, but we had no idea why.

After a wait for them to set up the reviewing stand, the line finally moved and when we came up to the outfield fence, I looked through and the huge expanse of stands was in front of us. In awe, I walked in through the spot where Tommie Agee once stood. It was the only time I ever got to walk through the field at Shea. You came all the way in to just behind 2B. Looking up at the stands from there was like being inside of a dream. I spotted our section. Everybody was on their feet waving and clapping. I tipped my hat to them and they became even more animated. It was one of the coolest moments of my life.

This Banner Day doubleheader started with an exciting win for the Mets. With the team trailing by a run thanks to Andy Van Slyke's homer in the top of the tenth inning, Gary Carter singled with one out in the bottom half. Darryl Strawberry drew a walk to send pinch-runner Barry Lyons to second base. Lee Mazzilli then got a double that drove home Lyons and Strawberry with the tying and winning runs. It was the 1,000th hit for Mazzilli in his career.

I was visiting a friend in Chicago this week in 1987 and got tickets for this game. What a great game to be a visiting Mets fan in another stadium. They clobbered the Cubs! We had great seats behind 3rd. And Wrigley Field is awesome. I remember we were right below Harry Caray singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame".

Keith Hernandez, coming into this day in a bit of a slump....decided to shave off his trademark mustache before this game (which was a big story in the pre-game interview with him). The results were a 2-homer day for Keith. And he wouldn't grow back his mustache until about a week or 2 later.

This the real game that took place on June 14, 1987, noteworthy because it is the date cited in the classic "Seinfeld" Keith Hernandez spitting incident episode. On the show, the Mets lost to the Phillies at Shea. In real life, the Mets beat the Pirates at Three Rivers. My unhealthy exacting memory for dates recalls this for personal reasons. My girlfriend (now my wife) had to leave town on this date. Yet I still managed to sneak a few peeks at the TV while she packed.

Life is all about striking a balance.

Greg, you are 100% correct. I wonder why the "Seinfeld" producers were so exact about a date - did anyone check to see what really happened on June 14, 1987? Oh, well, its just a TV show.

This was my first Mets game. I was finishing up 1st grade, living in Indiana PA. I wish I could remember the plays, but all I remember is the stuffed Pirate Parrot that Dad bought me.

Although not on the active roster (and never would be during the season), Tom Seaver was seen in uniform in the dugout during this game against the Pirates. He was attempting a comeback for the Mets, as the injuries were piling up at the time.

He would soon pitch a simulated game and get crushed by Barry Lyons, which he famously said was a sign that it was truly time to give it up. As for the game, the Mets offense was led by homers by Straw and Hernandez as the team was trying to rebound from its slow start to the year.

Betcha thought I'd mention my buddy David but at this point I'm 32, married and at the game with my third wife. (Don't ask.) Don Carman is throwing whiffle balls all night and a few rockets left the park. This was the first big year of the home run with 31 guys (or so) drilling 30 or more dingers. Guys like Wade Boggs (24) Larry Sheets (31) were hitting them out at will. At any rate, Ralphy Santana gets up late in the game and I said to my wife, "If he hits one out, we're outta here." Sure enough, the powerful Santana slams one into the night as we begin our exit to return home to Kew Garden Hills.

My 1st Mets game. Our school band director (a Mets fans since '62) surprised both me and my friend with tickets for that night's game. Don't even remember asking parents if it was OK to go.... :)

Great game to attend (almost 50,000 in attendance) for your 1st ever. Gooden pitched the whole game - coming off the WS win last year- I never thought for a second that the Mets wouldn't win.

Game was close all the way though - and when Gary Carter singles in the 9th and Dysktra (who pinch ran for him so I got to see him too - as well as Hernandez who also singled earlier in the game) got to 3rd base with 1 out...and just waited for McReynolds to come up and to hit a fly ball so he could tag up and win the game - I will always remember thinking "So this is how every game should be"

- 32 years later; I learned long ago; and after many games attended since; how genuinely youthful that feeling was.... and what I wouldn't give to feel that way again about our beloved Mets.

Great site here - thank you for allowing me to share.

Sports Illustrated did an issue called "One Day In Baseball" where they covered every MLB game played on June 21, 1987. They did a profile of Gary Carter from waking up to going to Shea (he didn't play) to having dinner with wife Sandy and the kids. I still have that issue and it covers everyone from Wally the Beerman at the Metrodome to then Orioles announcer Jon Miller to umpire Frank Pulli behind the plate for the Dodgers- Astros to the famous Fenway Park scoreboard.

Ron Darling pitched pretty well, but was victimized by a 2-run double off the bat of Paul Noce, followed by a 2-run homer off the bat of Mike Brumley.

Considering that Noce had a lifetime batting average of .228 with 14 RBI, and that Brumley hit .203 with only three home runs, it can safely be said that never before or since have the Mets been done in by two players who did so little in their careers.

This was the game in which Keith Hernandez caught Cubs player Leon Durham leaving 3rd base early on a sac fly. But Mets pitcher John Mitchell wasn't sure what to do, so Keith had to explain to him that he needed to get on the mound and then step off and throw to 3rd for the out.

Keith has told this story many times over the years on Mets broadcasts, as he found the thick southern drawl of Mitchell's accent and asking of the question to him quite hilarious.

Terry Leach continued his amazing 1987 season, improving to 6-0 on this NBC game of the week. He was in complete control all afternoon, with Philly barely hitting any balls hard. Orosco and McDowell were not at their best in relief, but held on for the win after a major rally fell short

This game was a true indicator of how this frustrating season would go.

The Mets had a 4-0 lead going to the bottom of the eighth at the Vet and Ron Darling had not allowed a hit through seven innings. But Greg Gross led off with a triple followed by a single by Juan Samuel, and by the time the Phillies were retired it was 4-3 Mets and Darling was out of the game.

In the ninth with one out, Roger McDowell gave up three straight singles to tie the game and then with two outs, Mike Schmidt singled in the winning run and the Mets lost 5-4.

The loss dropped the Mets to 39-34 and they trailed the first place Cardinals by 6.5 games.

The Pendleton game gets all the memory but this game hurt in the standings just the same. The Mets took a 7-3 lead into the 7th inning, only to watch the Cards chip away against McDowell and Orosco, losing eventually in extras in a game that would really come back to bite them at season's end.

About as "must win" as a late June game can get as the Mets couldn't afford to fall further behind the Cards. Gooden went all the way and HoJo won it in the bottom of the 9th on a single.

First Mets game I ever went to. My Sister got the tickets from some guy she worked with and the game was that night. We sat in the field seats on the 3rd base line. The rivalry was intense and so was the game. Gary Carter went yard twice!!! It was amazing!!!

Very historic game! The first Mets game to be on the newly christened WFAN 1050 which had switched formats from country music earlier in the day!

This was the only game that I attended at Riverfront that year. I can still remember Leach, with that wicked side arm delivery just mowing the Reds down. My buddy caught a foul ball off the bat of Paul O'Neill.

Don't ask me how I remember since I was 7 at the time but this was my first Met game. I remember Darling pitching because he pitched at the first few games I went to and I remember good ol' Timmy Teufel knocking one out into the right field bullpen. I remember it just being a great experience although the Mets lost.

Oh, this was a hot day to see a bad game. 95 degrees with a thousand per cent humidity. The most miserable day I ever had at Shea. The highlight of the day was the scoreboard announcement saying that Don Mattingly hit another home run to continue his every-game-hitting-a-home-run streak. A Yankee got more cheers than the Mets this day. It was that bad a Met day.

This was my first Mets game at Shea...I was 6.5 years old, Doc Gooden was on the mound, and Strawberry homered. At least that's what my brothers told me. I was too pre-occupied with the sno-cone and ice cream my father bought for me to notice.

This is the first game I ever watched at Shea, in fact the first baseball game ever. I was a big Gary Carter fan but he didn't play that day.

It was a day game and I was 12 years old sitting in the upper deck. I'm talkin cheaper than cheap seats. It was a summer camp field trip.

Ended up moving to California a few years later and didn't go back to Shea until 2004.

Very hot, sticky day at Shea. As an Astros fan, it was fun watching my team grab a win in the middle of a disappointing season. And it still didn't make up for 1986. Remember Kevin McReynolds hitting a three-run homer in the first to tie the game. More fun watching Glenn Davis homer in the fifth.

I'm surprised that this game has not been commented on, or the next series. The following week would be really big.

This day was unusual in that even though the Mets lost, they gained ground on the Cardinals, who lost 2 to San Francisco, as they pulled a shocking 4-game sweep on the red-hot Cardinals.

This was a tough loss, as Houston got 4 in the 9th. But it seemed to fire the Mets up. They would win 10 of their next 11, with their only loss being on a day where they were not very well rested. This included a 3-game sweep in St. Louis.

As an 11 year-old, my very first Mets game. It was Rally Cap day. Still have it, 21 years later!

I was at this game and I do remember it well. Mets had the lead going into the 9th and Orosco got unraveled as he gave up 4 runs including a 3 run homer by Billy Hatcher. I thought maybe this game would have been a crushing blow to the season after this loss but the Mets rebounded and got hot to get back in the race all the way until the final week of the season. Perhaps this game gave the team a wake-up call to get their act together before they fell too far back before August even came.

Also it was rally cap day as they gave a cap with a velcro baseball to all fans who attended. The rally cap was a popular thing with the players back then, so the team turned this into a giveaway promotion. 20+ years later I still have the rally cap with my Mets collection.

Rally Cap Day! I was at Shea with 43,000+ for the 1986 NLCS rematch where on a hot, humid overcast day with the threat of rainstorms (it never rained anyway); History repeated itself where Billy Hatcher hit another HR off Jesse Fiasco (my friend Kathy's funny last name instead of Orosco) just like Game 6 NLCS but unlike the previous season, there would be no comeback. I don't have the Rally Cap anymore but maybe someone will donate one for the upcoming 50th anniversary to the Mets Museum and HOF.

I was at this game. I was 8 years old and on a field trip with my local little league. I don’t remember what happened in the game but I do remember my brother sold his Velcro’s ball to another kid for $2. It is now 2023, I am 44 years old and I still have this rally cap in mint condition, with the ball - I didn’t sell mine.

At the time, a truly key series for the Mets as they were getting back in the pennant race. HoJo hit the game winning homer in the 10th inning as he continued his first great season for the team.

The Mets completed the sweep of the Cards, a much needed one at this point in the season. HoJo hit another homer, and this game got his bat checked by Whitey Herzog (something that would happen a few times to Johnson in 1987)

When on a road trip to Montreal to see this game (and to take advantage of the Canadian drinking age.) I remember how taken aback I was with how ugly Olympic Stadium was. Looks like a big warehouse. I can't believe it still stands.

Darryl Strawberry, if my research is correct, won this game by hitting a titanic homer off Kent Tekulve that hit high on the NL out of town scoreboard at Shea.

I remember the home run because it was a rocket, hit with a chillingly perfect swing. Tekulve was a couple of years removed from his days as a top notch closer and the side-arming righty vs. the power hitting lefty was a bad matchup for the Phillies.

Can't find another instance where Straw homered in a post-Pirates Tekulve appearance, so this must be the place.

Andy from Chicago......I'm sorry but Keith's homer won this game in extra innings, not Strawberry's. It was Keith's only game ending homer as a Met.

This was a very pivotal time in the 1987 season. It looked like the Mets were finally playing like champions, with a 7-game winning streak and a potent lineup that was now hot.

This game would change all of that. Early in the game, Darryl Strawberry was hit in the head by a pitch. After that, there were so many blown scoring opportunities and a sense that they were back to their habits of failing in clutch situations. Darryl Strawberry would miss several games because of this. As was often the case, he went down, and so did the Mets. They went 4-9 in their next 13 games.

This was really disappointing. I thought the Mets were finally playing like the team they were the year before. It didn't matter that they had so many injuries. If only they could have hit in the clutch, they could have won it all again.

Doc got rocked by the Cubs, breaking his personal 10-game winning streak against the Cubbies. After this loss, Gooden won his next twelve decisions against Chicago. The Cubs didn't beat him again until June 29, 1992. In 34 career starts against the Cubs, Doc was 24-4 with ten complete games and three shutouts.

This game was tied, 2-2, going to the seventh, but four singles, a walk, and an error gave the Cubs a four-run inning.

The Mets got a run back in the bottom of the ninth and had Kevin McReynolds at the plate as the tying run, but Lee Smith came in and nailed down his 28th save of the season. St. Louis also lost, so the Mets stayed 4.5 games behind the first place Cardinals.

I just found a ticket stub from this game... Mezz Sec 9 Row C Seat 1 $8.50

A rare off day for Terry Leach as he suffered his first loss of the season after winning his first 10 games.

In this game the Mets set a team record for most runs scored, and they did a lot of the damage against Greg Maddux, who would not become a superstar until the following year.

A pretty good day for the Mets bats as they closed to within four and a half games of the Cardinals.

The Mets scored 3 in the first with only one hit. They also had 4 walks and a sac fly off Greg Maddux, who finished the season with a 6-14 record and has not had a losing season since. The Mets added 1 more in the third and 3 more in the fourth on a 3-run HR by Strawberry that got Maddux out of the game. The Cubs scored 5 in the bottom of the fourth thanks mainly to a Jody Davis grand slam, but the Mets came back with 3 in the fifth and 7 more in the sixth, all 10 of those runs off rookie LHP Drew Hall. Dykstra and HoJo homered later in the game.

Barry Lyons hit a grand slam in this game, and it came in the Daily News Hometown Home Run inning, so some lucky fan won $10,000!

This was the first Mets game I ever attended. As an 8 year old, I wanted nothing more than to see Strawberry and Ho-Jo homer and the Mets win. I got both. Gooden also ended up on 3rd base on a strange play where he singled, and the miserable Padre OFs threw the ball behind him twice. McDowell threw 3 innings at the end for the SV.

Another utterly frustrating game. They had so many chances to get a key hit or even an out to drive in a run. They failed just about every time.

Fernando Valenzuela pitched a complete game and threw 165 pitches!

Easily one of the more frustrating losses from the 1987 season. As good as Valenzuela was on this night, the Mets blew multiple chances to score, especially early on. They even had the bases loaded and none out and still couldn't get a big hit

The start of a west coast trip that the Mets needed to dominate in order to have any real chance for the rest of the season.

Gooden went the distance and HoJo broke a scoreless tie in the 6th with a long homer against the eventual west champs.

The Mets would go 7-2 on this west trip and play excellent baseball, which at least gave them a chance down the stretch.

Gary Carter hit a 1st inning grand slam as the Mets scored all of their runs in their 5 run opening inning. They cruised to a 5-3 win as this west coast trip really got the Mets back into the race and made September a true pennant race. They ended up going 7-2 on the coast and played some of their best baseball of the season.

Keith Hernandez hit a rocket in the 1st inning right back to the pitcher, resulting in a double play. Continuing from the previous night, that was the 3rd straight rocket that Keith had hit right into an out. After this one in the opening inning, he threw his helmet across the field and him and First Base coach Bill Robinson walked off the field in sheer laughter. Ralph Kiner commented on the broadcast that he had never seen anything like it. A funny moment during the pennant race.

Does anyone remember this game? This was some game even though the Mets lost. I was 8 years old at the time. I remember it was a Sunday afternoon game in L.A., so a 4pm start. The game went 16 innings and I remember I kept wishing as each extra inning passed that it would go longer and longer. Well, I got my wish because the game must have ended like 9 or 10 pm that night. The score was 2-2 in the bottom of the 16th and I believe there were 2 outs and the Dodgers had a runner on 2nd. A routine groundball gets hit to Howard Johnson and I am like "Yes! we are gonna play more!" And he throws the ball away at first, I was so pissed. Then I had to go to sleep because there was school the next day. Man, this game was one for the ages even though the Mets lost. I will always remember this game.

To follow up on Chris C.'s post from April 2002, the Mets were behind 2-0 in this game, but Barry Lyons drove in a run in the seventh and another in the ninth to tie it up.

David Cone and Bob Welch both pitched well as starters, and the two bullpens were terrific. Both teams wasted based loaded and one out oppotunities in extra innings. Finally with one out in the sixteenth, Danny Heep scored on a Mike Devereau infield single plus an error by Howard Johnson.

Tim Belcher was the winning pitcher in his first major league appearance. It was also the first major league game for Gregg Jefferies, who fouled out as a pinch hitter in the fourteenth inning.

The Cardinals won their game so the Mets fell 3.5 games out of first place.

Looking back, probably the high point of the 1987 season. As the Mets scored 11 times in the last 3 innings to beat the Phillies. Strawberry was on fire with 2 homers and the team was red hot going into the biggest series of the season with the Cardinals...

The Pendleton homer. Mets up, 4-3, two outs in the 9th, McDowell pitching. Mets one game behind the Cards in this first game of a crucial three-game series. Pendleton had two strikes on him, and 55,000 people starting singing, "Na-na-na, hey-hey, goodbye..." Even my friends and I in the upper deck felt confident enough to start singing along. Then, Pendleton unloaded a line-drive home run to straight away center field. You never heard 55,000 people get so quiet so fast. It was sickeningly quiet the next inning when Jesse Fiasco gave up the go-ahead home run to Tommy Herr. Everybody knew this was a mortal blow. The Mets never recovered that season.

I remember this game. Darling and Meyers had a combined one-hitter going to the ninth, the Mets were up 4-1. Then with 2 out McDowell gave up a run scoring hit and then a 2-run homer to Pendleton. They lost in the 10th and lost a chance to go only .5 games out. Instead they were 2.5 out and were done.

Oh yeah - I forgot to mention in my 8/31 posting that I was actually at the game. I was sitting way up with a bunch of friends and I remember a fight breaking out a few rows in front of us during the Cards' rally. I still remember someone saying in a very sad voice - "See you guys starting fighting and the Mets started falling apart!!"

This is one of the top 5 worst Met losses of all time in my book. Up 4-1 in the 9th - Shea rocking and rolling. The Mets ready to close to within .5 games with Gooden and Cone going in the rest of the series. We were thinking World Series repeat until Pendleton unloads in the 9th. Once he hit it, you knew we were done, you didn't even have to watch the tenth. It was just like Scoscia's blast in the '88 NLCS off of Doc - same empty feeling inside. And it was on 9/11 to boot!

I was at Pizzeria Uno with a group of my friends on a Friday night. I wasn't old enough to drive so my pop had to pick me up. While he was on his way, Pendleton stroked one to center and ruined me that night. My dad, to this day, calls me a jinx for getting him out of the house to come get me. And of course, he wasn't the biggest Orosco fan, and I was. This game has scarred me for life.

I was at this game as well. I was 12 years old. It broke my heart. I'll never forget sitting in the upper deck and seeing a furious fight between Cards and Mets fans. When Whitey came out of the dugout to talk to his pitcher all the Mets fans BOOOOOOOOOOOOed! And I'll never forget a guy sitting next to me with a Cards hat on saying, "If the Mets fans keep booing the Cards might just win." As a 12 year old who was a big Back to the Future fan I later wondered if he was actually a time traveler who already knew the outcome of the game because nobody saw it coming. We had it won. I still say Davey should have stuck with Randy Myers who was pitching great instead of bringing in McDowell who was off and on that year.

This is without a doubt the worst game in Mets history. I was an usher in a wedding that night. The groom and ushers were all die-hard Met fans so we kept running to the bar to watch. The score was 4-1 Mets the entire game. McDowell had two strikes on Willie McGee with two outs in the ninth. He singles up the middle to score a run. Then Pendleton. It was the most empty feeling I've ever had as a fan. I agree with all those who've said we knew the season was over right then. Yeah, it happened on 9/11, and all these years later we still ride our friend that he got married on the worst night in Mets history. Johnson was an absolute fool to take out Myers, whom the Cardinals couldn't touch.

I was at this game - I never saw Shea go from complete elation to absolute silence so quickly. I can still see that Pendleton shot (and it WAS a shot) sailing over Mookie's head and over the centerfield wall.

Ugh.

Anyone remember that McReynolds almost tied it in the bottom of the 10th - line drive caught at the top of the right field wall.

Was in a bar on the upper East Side watching this with my brother and a embittered Pirates fan (imagine what he is like now!). We were feeling so good about our Mets until the stunning shot by Pendleton. No one in the place could believe it. My Pirates friend was ecstatic (surprised we didn't kill him).

As others mentioned you had a sense that the Mets were done. Was such a tough season and to lose like this was brutal - and a harbinger of bad times to come (i.e. the Scioscia in '88)

Yeah, I was there - 1st base mezz. I have been to hundreds of games including the Endy Chavez catch game in 2006 ironically also against the Cards. But there was no game that ever compared to this one in going from total elation to complete devastation in the blink of an eye when Pendleton hit that tracer to center. I mean it got out so fast - I remember looking at the scoreboard in disbelief to see the game tied 4-4 and saying what just happened!? Shea got so quiet you could hear a pin drop. It was like 55,000 people got punched in the stomach.

The game started off so well...I remember HoJo stealing 2nd earlier in the game to make the 30-30 club and Shea was absolutely electric. Darling was cruising with a no-hitter until that fateful drag bunt by Coleman in the 6th. Darling broke his thumb on that play diving for the ball and that was when I had the first inkling that the fun was over.

Darling said later that when he left to go home in the 9th his car was actually parked behind the fence in center and Pendleton's HR ball almost hit his car...talk about insult to injury!

Then the #7 train ride back to GCT after the game... it was soooo quiet... everyone in stunned silence. Yep - this was the worst Mets game ever - hands down.

Just watched this one on the old tape. I had forgotten that Terry Pendleton appeared on Kiner's Korner after the game as Ralph's guest. I cannot imagine any Mets fan saw that interview, as nobody would have stayed up to watch it after the disaster of the 9th and 10th innings. Pendleton was cordial and admitted that when he went to the plate, he was thinking of a homer.

@The Motts...The Mets were down by two runs when McReynolds came up with nobody on. A home run would not have tied it.

Everyone remembers the game from the night before...Pendleton's crushing homer in the ninth and the extra inning loss...but the Mets had a chance to rebound about 14 hours later and Doc let them down.

After Vince Coleman struck out to start the game, here's what the Cards did off Gooden: double, walk, walk, walk, sac fly, single, stolen base, single, fly out. Coming off the backbreaker of the night before, the Mets are down 5-0 before Mookie steps to the plate. If it wasn't over the night before, it sure is over now. The Cards got another run the the top of the second and Doc was gone by the third. His line was 2 innings, 6 runs, 5 hits, 3 walks.

And one more thing I didn't remember: the loss in this game dropped the Mets into THIRD place, half a game behind Montreal. The Mets did finish the season one game ahead of the Expos.

Considering the magnitude of the game, probably the worst regular season start of Doc's career in this NBC game of the week. As Bob said, the Cards basically small balled him to death in the first 2 innings, putting the game out of reach early, as the Mets could do little against Greg Matthews.

The Mets would rebound to win the next 4 in a row, but the first 2 games of this big series, coupled with 2 incredibly frustrating one run losses to the Pirates later in the month, really did the Mets in big time during this pennant race.

Cone's 1st of many big game perfomances of his career. In miserable conditions, game delayed 2+ hours at start due to rain, Cone kept Mets NL East hopes alive and averted a potential sweep by the eventual NL Champion Cards.

Knowing the Cards weren't coming back to Shea, the umpires and the Mets waited all day to play this game on a very rainy Sunday.

Cone pitched very well and Randy Myers pitched the final few innings, completely dominated in getting the save, establishing himself as the lefty stopper for the Mets and making Jesse Orosco expendable after the year was over.

Had tickets for this game but did not make it. Was my 1st day of school and had a lot of work to do. Also it was the opening Monday Night Football game of the 1987 NFL season. The game was seen as Super Bowl XXI-1/2 between the last 2 Super Bowl Champs-Giants vs Bears, called "battle of the midway".

Mets win 6-5 and got back on track after a dreadful weekend to keep pace until the last week.

Keith Hernandez had three hits including the 2,000th of his career as the Mets roughed up 21- year-old Greg Maddux. Maddux gave up six runs, nine hits, and four walks in 5.2 innings and his record fell to 6-12.

Also on this day, the Mets acquired John Candelaria for the stretch drive in exchange for two minor leaguers, one of whom (RHP Jeff Richardson) faced two batters in the major leagues. The other, Shane Young, never made it to The Show. Candy filled the starter's slot held by Ron Darling, who had been injured in the disastrous loss to the Cardinals four nights earlier.

Watched this one recently on the old tape, truly one of Gooden's more dominant performances. His curve was unhittable on this night and the Mets offense was in total control. Maybe the most complete win of the 1987 season.

My first road trip to see a Mets game. Some friends and I decided to make a pilgrimage to Pittsburgh for Ralph Kiner Night. Ralph and his wife circled the field in a convertible. His wife saw the banner we had brought and pointed it out to him. I have to say the people of Pittsburgh were great. Very friendly. The game was great too. Hernandez' Grand Slam was the big blow.

I was a freshman at Carnegie Mellon University. A friend of mine and I, both Mets fans from Jersey, took the bus to Three Rivers, bought tickets from a scalper (2 tix for $1!), and sat in the right field seats (seat #13, I remember).

The highlight of the game was Keith Hernandez hitting a grand slam home run right into my arms. As it approached, time slowed down and I thought, "Holy Cow it's coming right at me." I didn't catch the ball -- it bounced off my arm -- but I did leap over the seat to retrieve it before anyone else could get there.

This game was brutal for the Mets and for their fans!

It's true that the Pendleton HR earlier in that month, and the Aguayo HR at the end of that month, were huge blow to the Mets playoff hopes. But this game was just as important to the Met's chances as well.

Saw it on WOR, the Mets had numerous leads that they couldn't hold, Dykstra was thrown out at 3rd base in late innings. And a washed up 'prospect' named Darnell Coles ended up winning the game for the Bucs.

Just absolutely brutal!

This game is significant in Pirates' history. After the game Dwight Gooden (pretty sure it was him) said the Pirates celebrated like a bunch of little leaguers on the field. (Trying to locate the exact quote.) With the win, the Pirates climbed out of last place for the first time in three months (June 29). The team with Bonds, Bonilla, Van Slyke, Drabek, closed the season 27-11 to finish with 80 wins and in 4th place. Gooden's words fueled the hatred and rivalry from '88-'92.

The Pendleton homer game 9 days earlier gets all the attention and memories from the 1987 Pennant Race. But this game probably hurt just as much. The Mets had come into this game somewhat hot, only 1.5 games behind the Cards, despite the home series loss to St Louis a week earlier. They blew 3 separate late innings leads in this one (including a 4 run lead in the 6th) and lost in 14 innings. To top it off, the Cardinals won on this day, dropping the Mets to 2.5 games behind, and they'd never below 2 games behind them again.

A small footnote after all these years, but in the 8th inning, HoJo hit a grand slam homer to put the Mets ahead in a game that they simply had to win. At the time, it was one of the biggest hits of the year, and would certainly be remembered much more if the Mets had won the division.

The first of 2 wins by John Candelaria in a Mets uniform after getting destroyed in his first start a few days before this. Candelaria got the win as a replacement for Ron Darling, who broke his thumb in the Terry Pendleton game.

This game has a lot of special meaning to me. It was the first ever Mets game I went to and the first time I ever went to Shea. Because I went to this game with my mom and her friend and her son and it was a good experience and the Mets won this game. Even though I understood that hopes of them repeating as World Series champions became hopeless, it did not take away the fun of this moment for me. We had taped channel 9 WWOR TV's coverage of this game hoping that we'd be on tv and we were not because we were sitting in the mezzanine level.

I was at this game. Final regular season home game of the year. The Mets still had a slim, mathematical chance to catch the Cubs, with 6 more road games left. They wouldn't make it, but I remember the crowd being very enthusiastic and cheering the Mets loudly, especially at the end of the game, kind of saying "thanks for a great season, now go on the road and win this thing!" It wasn't meant to be that year.

I was listening on the radio and tearing my hair out. This, I believe, was the game in which the Mets were oficially eliminated, thanks to a 10th inning HR by the immortal LUIS %$^@#$^!^AGUAYO!!!

After I got home from school this day I saw a certified US Mail envelope sitting on the table. What was in this envelope-1987 Mets playoffs and World Series tickets that I sent in money for at the beginning of September.

After Luis Aquayo went deep in the 10th for a walk off home run, I knew those tickets would never be used. The Cardinals had to lose the next night and we then had to sweep the final weekend series to force a 1 game playoff which would have been at Shea. Mets had won the coin toss for that. That never happened, so the tickets became phantom souveniers.

If there were wild cards then, this game would have just been a tune up for the playoffs. Mets would have clinched already under that format.

I am so happy I found this site. This game still tears at after all these years. I think this loss may have been just as bad for me to swallow as the infamous Terry Pendelton HR game that same year.

Just watched this one recently. In the 6th inning, Strawberry almost hit his 2nd homer of the game. A shot down the left field line that went foul by about an inch and a half, at worst.

Strange to think if that ball had just stayed fair, the Mets win this game (it would have put them ahead 5-3, and Aguayo's homer never gets a chance to happen in extras. Then, the last series in St Louis becomes as meaningful as possible, as the Mets would have gone into Friday being only 3 games back with 3 to play. (I know they lost the Friday Cardinals game, but they played almost all backups since the game meant nothing).

Baseball truly is a game of inches sometimes.

This game just goes to show just how much the Mets and Cardinals hated each other during this era. With the division title already clinched and this game meaningless, Whitey Herzog has his pitcher intentionally walk HoJo in the 9th inning with a runner on base; this way HoJo doesn't have a chance at his 100th RBI of the season. He didn't get it the next day either, as he finished with 99 on the season.

Forgotten now, but the big news before this game was that Davey Johnson submitted to the Mets and the media that the following season in 1988 would be his last season managing the Mets, as he would then move upstairs into a front office role. Frank Cashen gave an interview stating that he hoped the next man for the job would also come from one of the farm clubs in the system but he would look outside the organization as well.

As we know now, none of that ever happened, Davey ended up staying the manager until he was fired in late May 1990, but still an interesting footnote in Mets history on this day as the Mets and Cards were playing the final days of the season.

Definitely one of the most depressing games in team history, despite the final score.

It's funny, the 87 Mets may have arguably been the most talented of the late 80's Mets teams in theory. (The 86 team didn't have McReynolds, or a better Straw and HoJo, and the 88 team really didn't have Hernandez and Carter in their prime good years.) But because of decimating pitching injuries and just general inconsistent play (and Doc's suspension), the team just couldn't rebound from its poor first half.