National League Standings, August 31, 1971
METS FANS SHARE THEIR MEMORIES OF THE AUGUST 31, 1971 GAME:
Dave VW
November 25, 2024
After failing to get a hit since Ted Sizemore led off the 3rd inning with a single, the Cardinals strung together three straight singles in the 9th to hand the Mets their final walk-off loss of the 1971 season.
Danny Frisella, in his 3rd inning of relief, allowed Matty Alou to reach on a bunt single to lead off in the 9th. NL MVP Joe Torre followed with another single, which led to Gil Hodges summoning Tug McGraw from the bullpen to face Ted Simmons. The move made plenty of sense, as Simmons only hit .235 vs. lefties in 1971 opposed to .333 vs. righties, but he laced a single to left nonetheless to score Alou and give St. Louis a 2-1 win.
All the Mets offense mustered was an RBI single by Jerry Grote in the 8th. Jerry Reuss went the distance for the Cardinals, striking out a season-high-tying 10 while throwing approximately 150 pitches. The Cardinals struck out a season-high 14 times themselves, but they got the key hits when it mattered most, while the Mets stranded 12 runners on base. Don Clendenon had the worst day of the bunch, going 0-for-5 with 3 Ks.
Nolan Ryan started for the Mets and delivered a strong showing after having his last turn in the rotation skipped due to ineffectiveness. This was also his 100th career ML appearance, and it would be his final time tallying double-digit strikeouts as a Met (12). The loss dropped the Mets back down to an even .500 for the season, but they would carry a winning record for the remainder of the year thanks to a hot start in September.
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