It Was 45 Years Ago Today...Saturday September 20th 1969

September 20^th

In A Miracle of a Met season, Pirate hurler tosses one of his own

On a beautiful Indian summer day at Shea NewYork hosted the Pittsburgh Pirates before over 38,000 witnesses of the Met miracle season in the making. Starter Gary Gentry sailed through three, but ran into trouble in the 4^th. Pirate 2B Dave Cash walked to start the inning, Willie Stargell singled to CF and then Pittsburgh called a double steal-this put runners on 2^nd and 3^rd with none out. 

 Facing Roberto Clemente, Gentry uncorked a wild pitch, which scored Cash, and then in quick succession loaded the bases by walking Clemente and hitting Al Oliver with pitch. Gentry’s bout of wildness continued when the threw his second wild pitch of the 4^th-scoring Stargell-one more run would come home on a fielders choice before Gentry escaped the inning, trailing 3-0. 

The Mets went scoreless and hitless into the 7^th. Pirate starter Bob Moose was nine outs away from a no-hitter. He set the Mets down in order in the 7^th and struck out the side in the 8^th. Pittsburg added another run off Tug McGraw in the top of the ninth, going up 4-0. Rod Gaspar worked out a walk to start the Mets final at-bat but Tommie Agee fouled out and Wayne Garrett grounded out. 

The final out was made when Art Shamsky bounced one to third for the final out. Bob Moose’s no-hitter was the third against New York, and the first since Jim Bunning’s  Father’s Day no-no in 1964.

The Cubs lost again, so New York kept their 4 game advantage in the NL East.