Amazin’ Look Back, August 5, 1973: Mets Drop Two to Cards

By Will DeBoer
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The Mets sank deeper into last place this afternoon, dropping both ends of a Shea Stadium doubleheader to the first-place St. Louis Cardinals. In the first game, Alan Foster outlasted Tom Seaver to pick up the 3-2 win (Orlando Pena nailed down the save). In the second, Rick Wise held New York to one run to beat Jim McAndrew 4-1.

Mar 18, 2013; Jupiter, FL, USA; St. Louis Cardinals hall of famer Lou Brock signs autographs for fans before a spring training game against the New York Mets at Roger Dean Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

The Cards and Mets each put up a run in the first inning of game one, but it was Jerry Grote’s RBI single that put the home team up 2-1 in the fourth. Seaver cruised from the second to sixth, but he ran into seventh-inning trouble that ended up costing him the game. Jose Cruz led off with a single, then after Mike Tyson’s sac bunt, pinch-hitter Bake McBride (yes, that’s his real name) singled in the tying run. McBride advanced to second on the throw home, which allowed Lou Brock to drive him in with a single immediately after, turning a 2-1 lead into a 3-2 deficit for the less-than-Amazin’s. John Milner and Cleon Jones got a two-out rally going with singles in the eighth, but Wayne Garrett flew out to end the team’s last major threat of the game.

If Mets fans felt cheated by the loss in the first half of the twin bill, they got their money’s worth in the second: two losses for the price of one. There wasn’t much good that happened in this game, as Redbird starter Rick Wise was productive from both sides of the mound. Wise tossed a complete-game five-hitter, with his only run against coming on John Milner’s seventh-inning home run. At the plate, Wise got St. Louis on the board with a solo homer off Jim McAndrew in the third and a sac fly in the sixth that made it 4-0.

The starting lineups for the first game looked like this:

St.Louis Cardinals

       

New York Mets

1

Lou Brock

LF1

Don Hahn

CF2

Ted Sizemore

2B2

Felix Millan

2B3

Tim McCarver

1B3

Rusty Staub

RF4

Ted Simmons

C4

John Milner

1B5

Bernie Carbo

RF5

Cleon Jones

LF6

Joe Torre

3B6

Wayne Garrett

3B7

Jose Cruz

CF7

Jerry Grote

C8

Mike Tyson

SS8

Ted Martinez

SS9

Alan Foster

P9

Tom Seaver

P

And here they are for the second game:

St.Louis Cardinals

       

New York Mets

1

Lou Brock

LF1

Don Hahn

CF2

Ted Sizemore

2B2

Felix Millan

2B3

Tim McCarver

1B3

Rusty Staub

RF4

Ted Simmons

C4

John Milner

1B5

Bernie Carbo

RF5

Cleon Jones

LF6

Joe Torre

3B6

Ken Boswell

3B7

Jose Cruz

CF7

Ron Hodges

C8

Mike Tyson

SS8

Ted Martinez

SS9

Rick Wise

P9

Jim McAndrew

P

The hapless Mets will look to get some of their hap back tomorrow and Tuesday as they finish up a rare six-game series with the visiting Cardinals.

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