[Highlander]

The 1986 Mets vs. The 1939 Yankees

Game 1- We start the World Series off with a pitching matchup of Ron Darling (20-13, 2.31) vs. Marius Russo (26-8, 1.75). The nerves must have been in play for both teams, as there were a total of 8 errors in the game. The Yankees jumped out to a 4-0 lead and then got 2 more after the Mets scored 3 in the 6th. However, the Mets were able to score 4 more in the 8th and 9th innings while Dwight Gooden held the Yankees scoreless in those two innings out of the bullpen. Lenny Dykstra and Ray Knight each drove in 3 for the Mets and Joe DiMaggio homered for the Yankees in the 7-6 Mets win.

Game 2- This game matched up Bob Ojeda (22-13, 2.46) for the Mets and Red Ruffing (22-10, 2.40) for the Yankees. It was a pitcher’s duel the whole way. The Mets jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the 4th and the Yankees tied it up in the 6th. It stayed 1-1 until the bottom of the 11th when Joe Gordon hit an RBI double off of Dwight Gooden to win the game, 2-1 and tie the series. Johnny Murphy got the win for the Yankees out of the bullpen.

Game 3- Game 3 saw ALCS MVP Lefty Gomez (17-12, 2.29) go up against Sid Fernandez (23-12, 5 Saves, 2.24). In this one, it was all El Sid. He pitched a 2-hit shut out to give the Mets a 2-1 lead in the series with the 7-0 win. The Mets offense really woke up in this one, led by Lenny Dykstra’s 3 hits, Kevin Mitchell’s 3 RBI and the 2 R and 2 RBI for Keith Hernandez.

Game 4- This game saw a rematch of game 1 with Darling and Russo taking the mound. The Yankees were up 3-0 going into the 8th and then the bats really came out for both teams. The Yankees got 3 in the 8th and 2 more in the 9th. Meanwhile the Mets scored 1 in the 8th but then a 3-run triple by Dykstra in the 9th gave hope to the Mets and they were able to score 5 runs in all….but it just wasn’t enough as they fell 8-6 in the game to tie up the series for the Yankees. Joe Gordon had 4 hits and 3 runs for the Yankees.

Game 5- Bob Ojeda and Red Ruffing met again as both teams tried to take a 3-2 lead in the series before it heads back to Yankee Stadium. This was another big pitcher’s duel as neither team scored until the 8th when the Mets finally broke through when Lenny Dykstra singled, stole 2nd and scored on a Wally Backman single…all with 2 outs. The Yankees just couldn’t score and the Mets ended up with a 1-0 win and that crucial lead in the series.

Game 6- Sid Fernandez and Lefty Gomez went at it again in this game and it was another nailbiter. The Mets held a 2-1 lead heading into the 8th, but a big 2-run single by Charlie Keller gave the Yankees a 3-2 lead that Gomez would not give up. We head to a game 7 and it should be a good one!

Game 7- It’s Darling and Russo for one more time in this series. Neither pitcher has been at their best, but both will be giving all they have in this final game. Both teams scored in the 1st, with the Mets getting one but the Yankees coming back in the bottom of the inning with 2 runs. Then in the 3rd, the Yankees got 3 more to take a tough 5-1 lead. The Mets chipped away with runs in the 4th and 8th, but they just couldn’t break through against Russo in this one and the Yankees took home the World Series title with a 5-3 win. Joe DiMaggio drove in 2 of the runs and Babe Dahlgren had 3 hits. DiMaggio was named the World Series MVP.


I'll do a season recap after this with award winners and other notes from the league. Then it will be on to 1933 where I will make sure I fix the scheduling issue we saw this season and I am hoping to make a couple of other changes to my reporting as well. Pleas let me know if there is anything you want to know from this or any future season. I have a feeling this isn't the last Yankees/Mets matchup we are going to see in the World Series, but there are some tough teams out there that should improve as the eras change.