5 most clutch starting pitching performances in Mets history

3) NY Mets clutch pitching performance: Tom Seaver 1969 World Series

There needs to be at least one World Series performance on this list. The 1969 and 1986 championships weren’t exactly dominated by Mets pitchers. While important, we remember those two runs more for the clutch hitting and major errors committed by the other team.

In the 1969 World Series, Tom Seaver had a start worthy of this list. After losing Game 1 to the Baltimore Orioles, he wasn’t about to have his record drop to 0-2. He came back for Game 4 and on October 15 at Shea Stadium, Tom Terrific gave us a brilliant performance.

The Mets were already up 2-1 in the series when Seaver took the mound against Mike Cueller. Through nine innings, things were tied 1-1. Cuellar exited after 7 frames while Seaver came back out for the 10th.

Seaver had nearly ended the game an inning earlier. With the Mets ahead 1-0, it was a one-out sacrifice fly from Books Robinson that tied things up. An error and a single in the top of the 10th gave the Orioles a chance. Davey Johnson was on third base with two outs when Paul Blair struck out to end the inning.

Seaver did his job.

In the bottom half of the inning, things came to a conclusion. A leadoff double from Jerry Grote got things started. Without recording a single out, the Orioles gave up the lead and the game. It was an error by pitcher Pete Richert that ended it.

None of it would have been possible if not for Seaver’s 10-inning performance that was one sacrifice fly away from being a shutout. The win helped set up for a much more pressure-free Game 5 that they won.