July 15, 1963: Mets End 15-game Losing Streak
From The Met Wiki
| Date: July 15, 1963 |
| Mets starter: Carl Willey |
| Mets: 14 |
| Colt .45s: 5 |
| Winning pitcher: Carl Willey |
| Key player(s): Carl Willey, Jesse Gonder, Jay Hook, Larry Burright |
| Key play: Willey's grand slam |
Entering a Monday doubleheader against the Houston Colt .45s, the Mets had not yet won a game in July. They had lost their previous fifteen games as Carl Willey took the mound for the first game of the twinbill. The Mets exploded for 16 hits, one of which was a grand slam by Willey. The long skid ended with a 14-5 win over Houston.
The Colts got on the scoreboard in the second inning against Willey. Jim Wynn doubled and Howie Goss walked. John Bateman then hit a double that scored Wynn and Goss for a 2-0 Houston lead.
The Mets responded heavily in the bottom of the second. They sent twelve batters to the plate and scored six runs against Colts' pitcher Ken Johnson. Jesse Gonder and Frank Thomas led off with singles and Joe Hicks doubled to score Gonder. Larry Burright was then walked intentionally to load the bases for Willey, who connected for a grand slam home run to put the Mets ahead, 5-2. Ron Hunt followed with a single and Johnson was removed from the game. Hunt later scored on Duke Snider's double off reliever Don McMahon.
Each team scored a run in the third. Johnny Temple homered for Houston and Hunt hit a double to score Burright for the Mets. One inning later, Hicks singled home Gonder to make the score 8-3 in favor of the New York. The Colts then scored two runs in the fifth and Willey was through for the day.
Jay Hook came on to pitch the sixth inning for the Mets. Jay retired Houston in order and had control the rest of the way. He pitched four innings of scoreless baseball to notch his first save of the season.
Still, the Mets were not finished scoring. They got three runs in the seventh against Colts' reliever Dick Drott. Burright scored on Drott's wild pitch, Snider hit a sacrifice fly to bring home Hook and Gonder's single plated Hunt from third. The Mets had a lead of 11-5. Three more New York runs crossed the plate in the eighth, the last of which was Al Moran's sacrifice fly that brought home Burright. It was Larry's fourth run scored in the game.
In the ninth, Rusty Staub got a one-out single for Houston's only hit off Hook. Jay then got Bob Aspromonte to ground into a game-ending double play. The Mets 15-game losing streak was over.
Notes
- Willey's grand slam was the first home run ever hit by a Mets' pitcher.
