Previous Game:
May 29, 1996
Giants 4, Mets 2
1996 Regular Season Game 51
May 30, 1996
Mets 1, Giants 0
Next Game:
May 31, 1996
Dodgers 10, Mets 3
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National League Standings, May 30, 1996

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Thru This Game

METS FANS SHARE THEIR MEMORIES OF THE MAY 30, 1996 GAME:

Michael
March 19, 2016
Taped this game years ago and watched it recently. A nice weekday afternoon game on Channel 9 (a rarity by the time the mid-90's came around). Definitely the best game that Paul Wilson ever pitched as a Met. And you could really see the fantastic stuff that he did have when he was fully healthy on this day. A shame that this was his high point with the team.

Dave VW
July 27, 2023
I agree with Michael. Wilson had the stuff of a true ace when he was healthy, which unfortunately wouldn't be for very much longer in 1996. Freshly shaved for the first time as a rookie, Wilson didn't allow another hit after a 4th inning double by Barry Bonds, ultimately tossing 8 shutout innings with 8 strikeouts. Wilson knew his day was done after the 8th, having thrown 99 pitches and due up in the bottom of the frame, and with the score still deadlocked at 0-0, the Mets needed to score a run to give Wilson his much deserved win. Thankfully, Jose Vizcaino came through with a 2-out single to plate Rey Ordonez, and then all that needed to happen was for John Franco to nail down the save.

But it was never that easy for these Mets. Stan Javier led off the 9th with a bunt single, which brought up Barry Bonds as the go-ahead run. Bonds smacked a deep flyball to CF that luckily got caught up in the stiff wind that was blowing in all day (and likely cost Matt Williams and Butch Huskey home runs earlier in the game, too), but Javier tagged up and moved to second base on the play. With the ever-dangerous Williams up next, I thought the Mets could have walked him with a base open and instead face Mark Carreon and attempt to get a double play. Pitching coach Greg Pavlick came to the mound to ask Franco what he wanted to do, and apparently Franco preferred going straight after Williams. It was a gutsy decision, but Franco came out looking like a genius as he struck out Williams, and then, after a 9-pitch battle, got Carreon to ground out to end the game.

Credit goes to Wilson and Giants starter Allen Watson for looking like Cy Young Award candidates, but the truth is both teams were really struggling to score runs at the time. Including this game, the Giants had scored just 12 runs in their last 7 games, and the Mets had only scored more than 4 runs once over their last 11 games. Didn't help that the Mets were missing Rico Brogna due to a bad shoulder, and gave Tim Bogar his first start of the season at 1B in this game. I'm still astonished at how little Carl Everett was being used at the time. The Mets easily could have started him in RF and Huskey at 1B. Everett was so far in Dallas Green's doghouse that nothing short of solving world hunger was getting him out.



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