On Tuesday, August 31, 2021 the Mets had a thrilling come-from-behind win against the Miami Marlins in the resumption of a suspended game. The Mets were down 5-1 in the ninth, and rallied to win, thanks to some clutch hitting by Michael Conforto and daring base running by Javier Baez.
Since that game, the Mets have won another game, been rained out, picked up ground in both the wildcard and division standings, and of course, been involved in more off-field drama. All of this has taken place in less than 48 hours. Focusing back on baseball, it was on this date, September 2, 1972, that the Mets logged their biggest comeback victory in franchise history, overcoming an 8-0 deficit to defeat the Astros in Houston. Let’s take a look back at that game.
Setting the stage, the Mets entered the game with a 63-59 record, in third place in the National League’s eastern division, trailing the first place Pittsburgh Pirates by 14 games. They had lost to the Astros the previous night by an 8-0 score, which is ironic because they were trailing by that same score when they staged their rally in the eighth and ninth innings.
Brent Strom was New York’s starting pitcher that night, and he found himself in an early 2-0 hole when Lee May belted a two-run home run in the bottom of the first inning. The Mets’s bats were held silent by Astros’ hurler Don Wilson through three innings, when the ‘Stros came to bat in the bottom of the third inning.
Cesar Cedeno doubled in Wilson and Roger Metzger, who had both singled, and the Mets fell behind by a 4-0 count. One batter later, Ray Sadecki replaced Strom on the mound and got out of the third inning with no further damage. Houston added an unearned run in the fourth inning off Sadecki, then another in the sixth off Bob Rauch. Rauch would surrender two more runs in the seventh inning on a two-run single by Bob Watson. The score was 8-0 going to the top of the eighth, and things looked bleak for the guys from Flushing.
Manager Yogi Berra‘s team showed some fight when Duffy Dyer and Bud Harrelson singled off Wilson to open the frame, followed by a walk by Jim Marshall to load the bases. With Wilson still on the mound, Tommie Agee hit a sacrifice fly and Ken Boswell swatted a three-run home run. The score was now 8-4, and Wilson made his exit.
John Milner and Ed Kranepool greeted new pitcher Fred Gladding with singles, then Cleon Jones doubled in Milner. The score was 8-5. The Astros brought in Jim Ray to pitch, and the first batter to face him, Wayne Garrett, singled in two runs to trim the Houston lead to 8-7. The Mets would not score again in the eighth, but they were set up for the ninth inning.
Jerry Koosman came on in relief to face the Astros in the bottom of the eighth. He and Tug McGraw combined to put up a zero, and now the Mets had one last crack in the ninth.
Ray took the hill, and Agee and Boswell opened with singles. Tom Griffin relieved Ray. Milner reached on an error while sacrificing, with Agee scoring on the play and Boswell and Milner ending up on second and third. The game was tied at eight. Jones singled in Boswell and Milner, as the New Yorkers grabbed their first lead of the game at 10-8. The final run of the night scored when Garrett drove home Jones with a single. The Mets led 11-8. McGraw retired the side in order in the bottom of the ninth, and the Mets had an unlikely victory.
The 1972 Mets finished the season with an 83-73 record (games were lost to a labor dispute that year), in third place. While their record and results were once again disappointing given their World Series title just three years prior, on September 2, 1972, the New York Mets made franchise history overcoming an eight-run deficit (with just six outs to work with) to win a thrilling game against the Houston Astros.
