Twenty years ago today, Mets outfielder Derek Bell stepped to the plate leading off the bottom of the eighth inning against Braves pitcher Don Wengert with New York trailing 8-1.
The Mets were all but toast against the first place Braves.
With two outs in the inning, the Mets were still losing 8-2 and only had one runner on base.
Back-to-back singles by Todd Zeile and Jay Payton brought the score to 8-3. Braves pitching proceeded to walk four straight Mets hitters to make the score 8-6 and bring second baseman Edgardo Alfonzo to the plate with the bases loaded. Alfonzo tied the game at 8-8 with a two-run single.
20 years ago today, Shea Stadium erupted when Mike Piazza hit a three-run homer to cap a 10 run 8th inning to beat the Braves, 11-8.
The Mets scored nine of the runs with two outs. pic.twitter.com/YvyPo7BWEy
— Mike Mayer (@mikemayer22) June 30, 2020
The game is now tied with Mike Piazza (who singled earlier in the inning) coming to the plate with two runners on. Piazza wasted no time against veteran Terry Mulholland, he sent the Shea Stadium faithful into a ruckus with a first-pitch three-run homer that gave the Mets a 11-8 lead.
Piazza capped a magical comeback that saw the Mets score 10 runs in the inning, including nine of those with two outs.
Mets closer Armando Benitez secured the 11-8 win and moved their record to 45-32 on the season.
