Mets Madness Recap: 2022 Mets Upset 1986 Mets In Six

The heavyweight 1986 Mets squad came into a series with full confidence.

They had defeated the 1976 Mets handily and were tasked with a series against a 2022 Mets squad that won 101 games. While the 2022 Mets had their season ended prematurely in real life, the squad demonstrated their full potential in Out Of The Park Baseball.

The 2022 Mets scored 35 runs in six games against a strong 1986 Mets rotation. Pete Alonso led the charge, slashing .417/.481/.667 with one homer and five RBI. This performance won the first baseman MVP honors.

James Villani led the ’22 squad, while Chris Bello led the ’86 squad.

Game 1

The ’22 Mets offense was clicking right out the gate in Game 1.

They attacked Doc Gooden, recording 11 hits across 4 1/3 innings against the right-hander. John Mitchell came in early to relieve the struggling Gooden but immediately gave up a three-run homer to Daniel Vogelbach.

Meanwhile, Max Scherzer set down the ’86 offense on the other side. He allowed one run and struck out six across six innings, handing his bullpen the ball with a 9-1 lead.

The ’86 Mets made a push in the bottom of the ninth but fell short. The team pushed six runs across in the inning against Tylor Megill and Stephen Nogosek, but eventually lost 9-7.

Game 2

The ’86 squad bounced back in Game 2 to tie the series at 1-1.

Kevin Mitchell got the big hit against Jacob deGrom in the bottom of the third, smacking a two-run double into the gap to give the ’86 Mets a 2-0 lead. DeGrom’s final stat line ended fine, as the righty allowed two runs and struck out seven in six innings.

Bob Ojeda took care of business on the other side and shut down a potent ’22 Mets offense. He went seven scoreless innings, striking out nine batters while only allowing two hits. Jeff McNeil made things close in the ninth with a two-run double, but Roger McDowell got the final out to secure a 4-3 ’86 Mets win.

Game 3

Chris Bassitt dominated the ’86 Mets at Citi Field to give the ’22 squad a 2-1 series lead.

The righty went the distance, striking out ten batters in nine innings. His only blemishes were a Keith Hernandez homer in the fourth and a walk to Wally Backman.

Tomas Nido led the charge for the ’22 offense. He went 2-for-4 with two doubles and two runs scored, turning over the lineup which allowed Brandon Nimmo and Starling Marte to both record one RBI. McNeil also drove in two runs with a single, powering the ’22 Mets to a 5-1 win.

Game 4

The ’86 offense came back to life in Game 4 to even up the series at 2-2.

They pushed four runs against Carlos Carrasco in the first and second innings, knocking out the right-hander after only 1 1/3 innings pitched. Tim Teufel was at the forefront of the offensive explosion, driving in two runs against Carrasco and two more against Drew Smith in the ninth.

Ron Darling was excellent on the other end of the ’86 Mets. The Yale alumni went 7 1/3 innings, striking out nine batters and allowing only two runs. Randy Niemann shut the door over the last 1 2/3 innings, striking out two while allowing one hit.

Game 5

The ’22 Mets won in dramatic fashion in Game 5 to take a 3-2 series lead before heading back to Shea.

Gooden struggled again for the Mets, allowing homers to both Francisco Lindor and Vogelbach. The ’86 Mets, however, matched with longballs of their own, getting two homers from Howard Johnson and Mitchell, which tied the game at five at the time.

Unfortunately for the ’86 Mets, they couldn’t keep up with the power of the ’22 Mets. Nimmo hit a solo homer late in the game, putting the ’22 Mets ahead 6-5. Edwin Díaz then finished the eighth and ninth innings to secure a 3-2 series lead for the ’22 Mets.

Game 6

The ’22 Mets knocked off the ’86 squad on the road in Game 6 to send the remaining World Series team in franchise history home. It wasn’t particularly close either.

The ’22 offense was relentless again. They tagged Ojeda for five runs over seven innings, Mitchell for three runs in the eighth inning, and then McDowell for two more in the ninth. Alonso, the series MVP, drove in the winning runs in the third with a two-run homer off Ojeda.

Meanwhile, deGrom got the job on the mound, laboring through six innings. He worked out a jam in the first and second innings, leaving four men on base. The ’86 offense couldn’t get anything else going afterward and only scored one run via a two-out single from Gary Carter.

MVP

Alonso won the MVP for the ’22 Mets, despite others also performing strong. He slashed .417/.481/.667 with one homer and five RBI, with the homer coming in Game 6 to ice the series.

Vogelbach (.364/.417/.909) and McNeil (.364/.462/.455) also had a strong series, driving in 13 runs combined, along with two homers from Vogelbach.