June 2, 1963: Collision Gives Mets Win in 10th
From The Met Wiki
| Date: June 2, 1963 |
| Mets starter: Roger Craig |
| Mets: 2 |
| Pirates: 1 |
| Winning pitcher: Larry Bearnarth |
| Key player(s): Duke Snider, Larry Bearnarth |
| Key play: Lynch and Virdon collide in 10th |
The Mets and Pirates faced each other in a doubleheader on a Sunday afternoon. The teams went into extra innings in the opener at the Polo Grounds. A collision of Pittsburgh outfielders in the bottom of the 10th allowed the winning run to score for a 2-1 Mets victory.
Roger Craig and the Pirates’ Vernon Law each pitched three scoreless innings on a combined five hits to start the game. In the top of the fourth, Willie Stargell led off with a single to center field. Craig caught Stargell with a pickoff throw and retired the next two Pittsburgh batters. Duke Snider led off the bottom half with a home run to give the Mets a 1-0 lead. Law then completed the inning with no further scoring.
From the fifth inning to the seventh, Craig and Law allowed two hits apiece while pitching scoreless ball. The Pirates had runners on first and second base with one out in the top of the eighth. Bill Virdon hit a force play ground ball to second baseman Ron Hunt. Craig retired Stargell on an inning-ending grounder to first baseman Tim Harkness. Bucs’ reliever Elroy Face then pitched a perfect bottom half.
In the top of the ninth inning, Bill Mazeroski got a leadoff single to right field. Mazeroski went to second on Craig’s wild pitch and advanced to third on a ground out by Jerry Lynch. An ensuing single by Smoky Burgess scored Mazeroski to tie the game. Larry Bearnarth came in to pitch and retired Donn Clendenon on a fly ball to right fielder Ed Kranepool. Bearnarth got Bob Bailey on a foul pop-up to Harkness for the third out. The Mets loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the inning. Face retired Choo Choo Coleman on a line drive to first baseman Clendenon, who then stepped on first to double up Charlie Neal and send the game onward.
Bearnarth shut down the Pirates in the top of the 10th inning. Larry led off the bottom half with a single to center field. A sacrifice bunt by Jim Piersall advanced pinch-runner Rod Kanehl to second base and Face walked Harkness intentionally. Hunt followed with a fly ball on which left fielder Lynch and center fielder Virdon ran into each other. The ball dropped to the ground for an error (charged to Lynch) that allowed Kanehl to score and end the game. The Mets started the twinbill with an extra-inning win.
