National League Standings, July 26, 1998
METS FANS SHARE THEIR MEMORIES OF THE JULY 26, 1998 GAME:
Dave VW
January 25, 2024
The Mets' first time facing Kerry Wood, and they fared about as well as everyone else did during his Rookie of the Year campaign in 1998. Brian McRae accounted for all the scoring with a solo home run in the 3rd, which Rick Reed protected until he allowed Sammy Sosa to blast his 38th dinger in the 6th, a 2-run shot that gave the Cubs a lead they'd never relinquish.
With Wood removed in the 8th, the Mets did attempt a rally. After Bernard Gilkey struck out to lead off, John Olerud and Mike Piazza followed with back-to-back walks. Edgardo Alfonzo moved the runners along by grounding out to second to bring up Carlos Baerga, a notorious bum vs. left-hand pitching. With lefty Tony Fossas ready in the bullpen, the Cubs instead stuck with righty Terry Adams, spurning the statistics and going on gut instinct. And gut instinct prevailed, as Baerga disappointingly grounded out to end the threat.
After the Cubs tacked on another run in the bottom of the 8th, the Mets were at it again against closer Rod Beck, getting back-to-back 1-out singles from Luis Lopez and Matt Franco. But the red hot McRae, who hit safely in all 7 games of the road trip, grounded out to 1B, and Gilkey whiffed again to end the game. Gilkey was an absolute lost cause at this point. He started just once during the road trip and has 1 hit over his last 15 ABs. His end is nigh.
Still, the Mets salvaged the season by going 5-2 on the trip, pulling to 3 1/2 games behind the Cubs for the NL wildcard spot. And they're headed back to NY for another long homestand against the West Coast teams. If they can win 7 or more out of the next 10, things are going to get interesting -- especially if they pull the trigger on some trade deadline deals.
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