Amazin’ Look Back, June 10, 1973: Dodgers Blank Mets

The Mets were shut out by Claude Osteen and the Dodgers this afternoon at Shea Stadium, dropping the game and the series 4-0. The aforementioned Osteen was on the long side for Walter Alston’s club, while Jerry Koosman fell to 5-5 for Yogi Berra’s boys.

May 2, 2012; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully at press conference to announce their sale of the Los Angeles Dodgers to the Guggenheim baseball management team at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-USA TODAY Sports

Osteen baffled the home team all afternoon, allowing just five baserunners in the form of three hits, two walks, and an error. Despite failing to strike out in the entire nine innings, only Ted Martinez, Felix Millan, and Jim Fregosi could manage hits against the former All-Star.

Meanwhile, Koosman picked up another tough-luck loss, despite his outstanding eight innings of two-run ball in which he bent for eight hits but rarely broke. It was Tug McGraw’s brutal ninth frame that truly put the game out of reach for the Amazin’s, as he allowed two more runs (a Bill Buckner sac fly and a Joe Ferguson single) during a rally started by an Osteen base hit. After two straight years of 1.70 ERAs, McGraw’s number this year stands at a dreadful 5.29, prompting fears by Mets faithful that their once-promising star reliever may be already washed up at the young age of 28.

Today’s starting lineups looked something like this:

Los Angeles Dodgers

New York Mets

2B1

3B2

1B2

2B3

CF3

CF4

RF5

3B5

SS6

LF6

1B7

RF7

LF8

SS8

The Mets’ West Coast anti-swing continues tomorrow as they welcome the San Francisco Giants back to New York for a three-game set.

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