Remembering Mets History (2000) World Series Game #3- Mets Win First Game of Sub Way Series At Shea

 
Tuesday October 24th, 2000- World Series Game #3- Shea Stadium, NY: 

This is the only game I acknowledge from that Series. centerfieldmaz & entourage sat in the very last seats of the left field upper deck at Shea Stadium. Us & fellow Met fans really let the other NY teams fans have it.


This was the first World Series game back at Shea Stadium since the Championship Year of 1986. A New York crowd of 55,299 came to Shea for Game Three of the Subway Series. 

Bobby Valentine's Mets (94-68) had won the NL Wild Card, beaten the San Francisco Giants in the NLDS in five game & the St. Louis Cardinals in the NLCS in five games as well.

This World Series was the first New York Sub Way World Series since 1956, when the Brooklyn Dodgers took on the AL New York team.

The Mets had dropped the first two games of the series, losing a 12 inning nail bitter 4-3 & then a heartbreaking 6-5 loss in Game #2. In that game they had scored five runs in the 9th inning & fell just short of a comeback. An earlier base running blinder by Timo Perez may have been the difference. That game also featured the next round of the Mike Piazza vs Roger Clemens drama.

On this nigt the Mets stopped pitcher; Orlando Hernandez's post season win streak at eight games, as they took a 4-2 victory. The Mets starter was Rick Reed (11-5 / 4.11 ERA / 121 Ks).

In the bottom of the 2nd, Robin Ventura put the Mets on the board first with a lead off HR to right center field, almost hitting the famous HR Apple.

The A.L. New York team scored in the 3rd & 4th inning, as Rick Reed lost the lead and the Mets trailed 2-1 going into the 6th inning. 

In the home 6th, Mike Piazza hit a ground rule double to lead off. Next, Robin Ventura got aboard on a walk. Todd Zeile followed with a double bringing in Piazza to tie the game up 2-2, much to the delight of the Shea Mets fans. 

Turk Wendell came on & struck out the first two batters of the 7th inning. He then walked a batter & was relieved by Dennis Cook. Cook hit his first batter with a pitch but then struck out Bernie Williams to end the threat. 

John Franco came on in the 8th with no one out & a runner on. He got a double play ball, gave up a base hit & then retired the last batter of the inning.

In the bottom of the 8th, Todd Zeile singled to center with one out. Benny Agbayani (who hit over .350 in the post season) came up big once again, as he doubled home Zeile in what would be the games winning run. 

Benny Agbayani was removed for pinch runner "Super" Joe McEwing. Next up, Jay Payton got on with an infield hit, advancing McEwing to third. 

Mets pinch hitter; Bubba Trammell then hit a sac fly to center, McEwing scored to make it 4-2 Mets.

Armando Benitez came on in the 9th, he allowed a single & a then a strange play involving defensive put the runner on second base. Benitez managed to get out of it & close out the game with the save.