1974
From The Met Wiki
The Mets took a nosedive in 1974. The team suffered through its first losing season in six years with a 71-91 won-lost record. They ended up in fifth place in the National League Eastern Division.
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April
The ’74 season got off to a rough start for the Mets. Eight wins in 21 games during the month placed the team fifth in the division. In the season opener at Philadelphia on April 6, the Mets were defeated by the Phillies, 5-4, on a ninth-inning home run by Mike Schmidt. They had a 3-2 win over the Cardinals in the home opener at Shea Stadium on April 10. The Mets ended a seven-game losing streak with a 5-2 victory over the Pirates on April 20 at Shea. At San Francisco on April 28, they swept a doubleheader with 6-0 and 6-4 wins over the Giants. The Mets closed out the month with an 8-7 victory at Los Angeles on April 30.
May
Things did not improve much for the Mets in May. They had a 12-15 record for a .444 winning percentage during the month. In a weekend series against the Padres at Shea, the Mets won two of three games with 6-3 and 6-4 (in 10 innings) victories on May 4 and May 5, respectively. They won four of six games at Chicago and St. Louis between May 10 and May 16. The Mets recorded consecutive shutout wins, 5-0 and 6-0, over the Expos on May 17 and May 18 at Shea. They lost five of their next six before a pair of wins at Pittsburgh on May 25 and May 26. The Mets closed out May with four straight losses. They ended the month at 20-28 and still in fifth place.
June
The Mets had another losing month in June. They continued to struggle along with a 10-16 won-lost record to fall into last place in the N. L. East. After a 3-1 win over the Astros at Shea on June 1, the team lost two of three at home to the Reds. At Houston on June 8, the Mets came away with a 6-5 win in 14 innings. They stopped a four-game skid with a 4-1 triumph over the Dodgers at Shea on June 15, but then lost their next four games. At Chicago from June 24 to June 26, the Mets swept a three-game series against the Cubs. On Old Timer’s Day ay Shea on June 29, the team chalked up a 4-0 victory over the Cardinals on Jon Matlack’s one-hitter. One day later, the month concluded with the Mets dropping both games of a doubleheader to the Cards at Shea.
July
The Mets had their first winning month of the season in July. The team recorded 15 wins in its 27 games for the month. The Mets won six times on a ten-game home stand between July 2 and July 10. To begin a west coast trip, they won two of three against the West Division-leading Dodgers at Los Angeles and dropped a pair of games at San Francisco. At San Diego on July 20, the Mets had three consecutive home runs in a 10-2 win over the Padres. They swept a three-game series against the Expos at Shea between July 27 and July 29. The team dropped two of three to the Pirates to close out the month. The Mets ended July in fifth place with a 45-56 mark, seven games behind the co-leading Phillies and Cardinals.
August
The Mets’ troubling season continued in August. A 14-15 won-lost mark during the month kept them in the fifth spot in the division standings. The team began the month with a pair of losses to the Cubs in a doubleheader at Shea on August 1. Between August 3 and August 8, they won twice at Montreal and lost all three games of a series at Pittsburgh. The Mets defeated the Reds, 4-1, on August 9 at Shea. The team had a three-game sweep over the Dodgers at Shea from August 12 to August 14. On a road trip between August 16 and August 25, the Mets lost seven of ten games at Cincinnati, Houston and Atlanta. They closed the month with three wins in four games against the Astros at Shea.
September/October
The Mets finished off the season with 12 wins in their last 32 games. The month of September started well for the team. Tug McGraw (in a rare start) pitched a shutout for a 3-0 victory over the Braves at Shea on September 1. The Mets followed up with a sweep of a three-game series at Chicago. At Shea on September 11, the Mets suffered a 4-3 loss to the Cardinals in a game that lasted 25 innings. They dropped seven of ten on a road trip between September 16 and September 25. The team ended a six-game losing streak with a 7-2 win over the Pirates on September 29 at Shea. They defeated the Phillies, 5-2, at Shea the next day to end the month. The Mets then concluded the ’74 season with a pair of losses to the Phils on October 1 and October 2 at Shea.
