The 3 best Mets pitching performances in NLCS history ranked

Mike Hampton (32) celebrates with manager Bobby Valentine after pitching a shutout in Game 5 of the 2000 NLCS to send the Mets to the World Series.
Mike Hampton (32) celebrates with manager Bobby Valentine after pitching a shutout in Game 5 of the 2000 NLCS to send the Mets to the World Series. | Al Bello/GettyImages
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2. Dwight Gooden in 1986 vs. the Houston Astros

The big pitching legacy surrounding the intense 1986 NLCS against the Houston Astros was the fear of the Mets having to face Cy Young winner Mike Scott of the Houston Astros if the series went 7 games because the Mets had no clue how to beat him.

Lost in the shuffle, however, was Dwight Gooden's incredible performances in Games 1 and 5 of that series. In Game 1, Gooden was matched up against Mike Scott. Gooden gave up just one run in seven innings of play (a 2nd-inning home run to 1986 NL MVP runner-up Glenn Davis), while Scott pitched a shutout as the Astros won 1-0. But Gooden did everything he could to keep the Mets in that game in his postseason debut.

In Game 5, Gooden pitched 10 innings and gave up just one run (on a Bill Doran grounder the Mets weren't able to turn a double play on), in a game the Mets won on Gary Carter's walk-off single in the 12th inning.

If a Mets player were to win NLCS MVP (Mike Scott was named the MVP of the series because of how he impacted the game planning throughout the series), it would have been Doc Gooden. Gooden finished the 1986 NLCS with a 1-1 record and a 1.06 ERA in 17 innings pitched in two games.

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