Apodaca looked like a true future star against the 1974 NL East champion Pirates. He didn't allow a batted ball to reach the outfield until the 5th inning, didn't allow a hit until Gene Clines had a pinch-hit single with one out in the 6th, and entered the 9th inning with a 1-hitter intact. However, even with such a dominant performance, Apodaca wouldn't get another starting opportunity until the 1976 season.

The Mets lineup was as ragtag as you could get, what with Cleon Jones, John Milner, Bud Harrelson and Jerry Grote all out of the lineup. But even with Bennie Ayala hitting cleanup and George Theodore 5th, they managed 7 runs on 11 hits, taking advantage of an injury-plagued Ken Brett and the backend of the Pittsburgh bullpen. Brett only retired 3 batters before getting the hook, his shortest outing of an All-Star 1974 campaign. The Mets also didn't strike out at all in the game, one of three times during the season they had no Ks. As luck would have it, this was the only one of those three times they would win the game.

For the Pirates, John Morlan and Juan Jimenez were two of the pitchers used in the relief, both appearing for the last time in the Major Leagues. Morlan didn't retire any of the 4 batters he faced in the 6th, while Jimenez pitched a scoreless 9th.