Kong Crushes Cards

8/16 - 8/18 Shea Stadium - Flushing, NY
GAME 1 - Cardinals 1, Mets 0
For 7 2/3 innings unheralded Randy Tate had a no hitter going.  For anyone who knows the history of the pitching rich Mets franchise, they know that there has NEVER been a no-no thrown in the 49 year history of the franchise.  Strangely in KOD play there have been two Met pitchers to throw No hitters (Jason Isringhausen and Sid Fernandez).  The nondescript Tate would have been a fine addition to the list.  Besides history Tate had another huge problem, his team hadn't scored any runs either.  His opposite number Schmidt went six rock solid innings allowing just 2 hits.  We fast forward to the top of the 8th.  After Lockman and Blasingame grounded out weakly relief pitcher Collum singled weakly to right to break up the no hitter.  Bill Virdon walked and former NY Giant Alvin Dark single to center to score the game's only run.  Jim Konstanty would come on to get the final 4 outs as the Shea faithful w ent home scratching their heads on how their team blew another strange one.

GAME 2 - Mets 8, Cardinals 2
The best antidote for a losing streak is "the Franchise" Tom Seaver.  The Mets finally scored a run off the Cards in the first when Joe Torre doubled home Felix Millan.  Cardinal starter Vinegar Bend Mizell worked out of the jam and left the Mets scratching their heads on how to scratch out some runs.  The normally "lights out" Seaver was almost lit up in the top of the 2nd.  Ken Boyer led off with a clean single.  After Wally Moon flew out to right Rip Repulski doubled to put both runners in scoring position.  Light hitting backstop Hal Smith slammed a double off the 371 sign in right center to give the Cards a 2-1 lead.  Seaver was able to get Bobby Del Greco to line out to third and he fanned Mizell on 3 pitches to work out of it.  The Cards had the right hander from Fresno on the ropes, but did not deliver the knockout blow.  After escaping the 2nd Seaver got in a groove and would shut the door on the Cards the rest of the way.  Mizell looked like he would nurse that 1 run lead until the finish line, until it all came undone for him in the home half of the 6th.  After fanning Kingman Mizell served up a double to Torre, who flat out kills southpaws.  Grote was intentionally passed in order to get the more favorable lefty vs lefty matchup between Del Unser and Mizell.  Unser singled to load the bases with one out.  Decision time was upon us.  Knowing his team needed the runs NY's manager went to the bench and called upon Jesus Alou to pinch hit for the barely competent Jack Heidemann.  Alou delivered a single to the gap to score Torre and Grote to make it 3-2 Mets.  Seaver stepped to the plate and like so many times before he not only pitched his team to victory he also hit them there as well.  Fighing off a Mizell fastball Tom Terrific lined one over Musial's head at first to score both Unser and Alou to give himself some margin for error with a 5-2 lead.  Seaver was now on cruise control and when he's in this mode he can make a 1 run lead look like a 10 run lead.  St. Louis was now facing a huge uphill climb.  the Mets added 2 runs in the 7th and a solo run in the 8th to up their lead to 6.  At this point you could hear Bob Murphy saying, "Mets win, Mets weee-in".

GAME 3 - Mets 7, Cardinals 6
New York jumped out to a quick 3 run lead thanks to a 2 run shot by one David Arthur Kingman.  The Cards made it 3-1 with a solo run off Met starter Jerry Koosman in the top of the 5th and Kingman hit his 2nd homer of the day to make it 4-1 off Cardinal starter Poholsky.  The Cards chipped away with another solo run in the 6th when Ken Boyer hit a solo shot.  As Koosman began to tire Alvin Dark led off the 8th with a bullet triple that bounced off the 410 sign in dead center.  Next up, Stan "the man" Musial had a classic at bat fouling balls off left and right until he could finally get his pitch.  When Stand gets his pitch he gets his hit, which is exactly what happened.  With the score now 4-3 and Koosman out of gas righty Ken Sanders was called upon to get the Mets out of the inning.  Sanders made it awfully interesting, but no further scoring would occur.  Bob Apodaca started the top of the 9th with all intentions of closing the game out.  He fanned Del Greco for the first out, but gave up a single to pinch hitter Blasingame, who stole second off the strong armed Grote.  Leadoff man Red Schoendinst singled home Blasingame to tie the game at 3.  Alvin Dark followed with a run scoring double to put the Cards up by 1.  Up stepped Musial, fresh off his marathon RBI at bat an inning before.  As Yogi would say, the Mets faced "Deja Vu all over again".  (Stan) Musial did it one more time as he battled back from an 0-2 count to line a single to right and score Dark to put what appeared to be the final nail in the Mets coffin.  After Boyer flew out Repulski singled to right and Musial was sent home.  Met right fielder Rusty Staub threw a strike to Grote at the plate to nail Stan and end the inning, but the damage was already done.  St. Louis was up by 2 with only 3 more outs to be gotten.  Ellis Kinder, who's prime was 5 or 6 years earlier in Boston came on in relief of Lindy McDaniel who tossed two scoreless innings.  McDaniel was lifted in the top of the 9th for a pinch hitter, Blasingame, who figured heavily into the Cardinal 3 run breakout inning.  Kinder served up a soft single to Felix Millan to lead off the inning, then walked Staub on 5 pitches.  Up stepped Dave Kingman, affectionately known as "Kong" to the Flushing faithful.  Kong fouled off the first pitch then looked at ball one.  With the count 1-1 Kinder threw a fastball that was supposed to jam Kingman.  5 or 6 years earlier that pitch would have done just that.  Today, however Kinder's fastball was missing a few feet and Kong exploded into it and watched it sail clear over the left field bullpen wall into the parking lot for his 3rd homer of the day.  Met players mobbed the normally emotionless Kingman at the plate to celebrate his walkoff 3 run shot.  On a side note:  In Kingman's first at bat he hit a line drive that died on the warning track about 5 feet from the fence.