May 4, 1966: Hamilton Pitches One-Hitter
From The Met Wiki
| Date: May 4, 1966 |
| Mets starter: Jack Hamilton |
| Mets: 8 |
| Cardinals: 0 |
| Winning pitcher: Jack Hamilton |
| Key player(s): Jack Hamilton, Ed Bressoud, Ron Swoboda |
| Key play: Swoboda’s home run in 1st, Bressoud’s homer in 4th |
The Mets and Cardinals played the second of a two-game series in St. Louis. For the Mets, it was their final game ever at the original Busch Stadium (once known as Sportsman’s Park.) Jack Hamilton helped the Mets bid a fond farewell to the place with a one-hitter for an 8-0 victory over the Cardinals.
Ed Bressoud singled off St. Louis starter Ray Sadecki to begin the first inning. Later, Jim Hickman drew a walk with two out and Ron Swoboda hit a three-run homer to give the Mets an early lead. The Mets scored twice more off Sadecki in the second on RBI singles by Bressoud and Ken Boyer to go up, 5-0.
Hamilton retired the first eight Cardinal batters he faced. Sadecki came up with two out in the third and beat out a bunt toward third base. This was the only St. Louis hit in the game. Lou Brock followed with a walk before Hamilton struck out Alex Johnson to end the inning. Jack then retired the Cards in order in each of the final six innings.
Bressoud’s homer off Sadecki in the fourth gave the Mets a six-run lead. In the eighth, they got two more runs off Cards’ reliever Tracy Stallard. Both runs were scored on the fifth and sixth St. Louis errors of the game as Hickman and Ed Kranepool crossed the plate.
In the ninth, Hamilton finished off his pitching gem by getting Johnson to fly out to center field. Jack had the Mets’ second one-hitter in the team’s final visit to the old Busch.
Notes
- This was Sadecki’s last game as a Cardinal. He was traded to the San Francisco Giants four days later. In Sadecki’s first game as a Giant, he faced Hamilton and the Mets again.
- The win for the Mets was the 200th in team history.
