Dave Mlicki‘s major league career lasted ten seasons. By comparison, it was a rather modest decade: 66-80, a 4.72 ERA, and a 1.47 WHIP. He spent four years with the Mets registering a 24-30 record and an ERA+ of 98.

Of the 66 victories in the majors and 24 as a Met, his night at Yankee Stadium clearly stands out. It wasn’t any ordinary game, contrary to what some players may have said. It was the first-ever regular-season meeting between the two New York clubs

The advent of interleague play gave great anticipation to several regional match-ups that had not yet been seen. And because of New York’s storied history, the Mets and Yankees had the most build-up.

It was the 29-year-old Mlicki who got the start on the historic occasion. All he did was become, still to this day, the only Met to throw a shutout at Yankee Stadium—current or previous.

“It was one of those days where everything was working,” Mlicki said to the New York Post last year. “I had confidence in my stuff. The fans were into it. It was such a big deal.”

Although he gave up nine hits and allowed two walks over 119 pitches and managed just a single 1-2-3 frame, the Yankees were unable to get on the scoreboard. Much of the credit goes to Mlicki of course for striking out eight and preventing any trouble. But he also got assistance from his defense—including sharp glove plays from Matt Franco at third base and Bernard Gilkey in left field.

Gilkey scored three times on the night. He crossed the plate on a John Olerud double off Andy Pettitte in the first as the Mets jumped out to an early 3-0 lead. The Mets added two more on an Olerud seventh-inning single and another on Gilkey’s ninth-inning sacrifice fly.

The Yankees added more traffic on the bases in the ninth. But despite three singles, Mlicki stayed in and preserved his scoreless effort—striking out Derek Jeter to finish off the 5-0 win and earn bragging rights over the defending world champions.

Mlicki finished ’97 at 8-12 with an ERA of 4.00. But his season, his Mets career, and his big-league career is forever remembered by his stellar night at the Bronx. As Mlicki told the Post last year, many haven’t forgotten.

“I’ll be at a golf tournament and some Mets fan will come to me and say, ‘Oh my God, I was at that game! I still have the ticket stub!’ All New York fans are so passionate about their sports. It’s what makes it so great. It’s nice to still be relevant sometimes.”

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Few hitters gave Roger Clemens as much trouble as Mike Piazza. The two faced off 25 times.

Against a man who would strike out more than 4,000 batters over his lengthy big-league career, Piazza struck out twice.

He batted .364, had an on-base percentage of .440, and a slugging percentage of .955. He hit four home runs, each of them carrying some kind of importance.

This dual evolved into a rivalry by 2000. Piazza took Clemens deep in a July 1999 game at Shea which helped Al Leiter and the Mets secure a Subway Series victory.

He’d do the same less than a year later at Yankee Stadium.

In the top of the third, an error, walk, passed ball, and another free pass gave the Mets a prime opportunity to break the scoreless tie — especially with Piazza entering the batter’s box.

Mike lifted Clemens’ second pitch to straightaway center, with little doubt it would stay in the park.

The grand slam elicited a measured cheer from orange and blue-clad fans who found their way into enemy territory.

The Mets further bludgeoned “The Rocket,” scoring a once in the fourth, once in the fifth, and three in the sixth — capped by an Edgardo Alfonzo two-run homer.

Before Piazza could get another crack at Clemens, Yankee manager Joe Torre pulled his beleaguered right-hander after 10 hits and eight earned runs over 127 pitches.

The 12-2 drubbing of their Bronx neighbor and the two-time defending World Champions was the high point in an eight-game stretch versus American League East competition.

It began on June 2 versus Tampa and continued when they hosted the struggling Orioles, reaching the tail end of their 10-game road trip, starting on Monday, June 5.

Jason Tyner made his major league debut in that opener with Baltimore and was granted no soft landing, batting leadoff against future Hall of Famer Mike Mussina.

But Tyner represented himself well — recording hits in each of his first two at-bats.

The Mets tallied two runs off Mussina in the second inning, initiated (ironically enough) by imminent Oriole Melvin Mora.

His single, followed by hits from starting pitcher Mike Hampton and Tyner, led to a rare erratic sequence from the Baltimore ace.

Mussina yielded a walk to Derek Bell, which scored Mora, then a walk to Alfonzo, which scored Hampton.

But that would be all the Mets got. The O’s scratched together three seventh inning runs off Hampton to hand him and New York a 4-2 loss.

A Tuesday rainout — and the subsequent rescheduling for Thursday — was particularly irksome to the homesick Orioles.

They’d been away from Camden Yards since May 27 and now were waylaid an extra night, forcing the team’s traveling secretary to secure some 60 hotel rooms.

The O’s were further perturbed by what took place over the remainder of the series. On Wednesday, starter Scott Erikson was bounced in the sixth.

New York scored four that inning and five the next. Alfonzo contributed heavily to the 11-2 victory with a home run and an RBI triple.

Baltimore had its chances to take the finale, tying it in the top of the ninth. But Kurt Abbott, of all people, sent everyone home (including the Orioles) with a walk-off round-tripper.

The Mets applied that momentum into their blowout of the Yankees.

While Piazza’s resounding blast was the headliner, other hitting highlights included Derek Bell’s 3-for-4 and five RBIs, Jay Payton‘s 3-for-4, as well as two more hits from the newcomer Tyner.

All Clemens could do was emanate a wide-range of excuses for his performance — from the self-created idea that he was tipping his pitches to the notion that an extra day’s rest made him too strong then doing a 180 and admitting he might be too tired.

Al Leiter wasn’t any of those things. He held his former club to seven hits (just one for extra bases) over seven innings.

The Yankees responded the next afternoon, overcoming early miscues to pummel Bobby Jones for seven runs in 4.1 innings and right off the major league roster.

With a 10.19 ERA, Jones was soon demoted to Triple-A Norfolk.

Any hopes of a rubber game showdown between Rick Reed and Andy Pettite was washed away, literally, by more rain.

But Robin Ventura still provided a show. While everyone waited out the rain, Ventura came onto the soaked, tarp-covered field looking remarkably like his power-hitting catcher — sporting his No. 31 uniform and his trademark mustache.

Ventura pantomimed a dead-on Piazza interpretation — from the batting stance, to the swing, to his baserunning mannerisms.

He slid head first into second base and home, much to the delight of the small, but captive audience (including Piazza himself).

The makeup date for the finale would be moved into the two team’s next series the following month.

This created a scintillating scheduling scenario: a home-and-home, Queens-to-Bronx double-dip on July 8 –when any fun Piazza had enjoyed at Yankee Stadium would end.

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