Roger McDowell
From The Met Wiki
Roger McDowell was a relief pitcher for the Mets from 1985 to 1989. He appeared in 280 games and posted a 3.13 earned run average with the team. McDowell recorded 84 saves as a Met.
McDowell pitched in a team-leading 62 games for the Mets during his rookie season in ’85. He had a 6-5 won-lost record and an ERA of 2.83 for the year. In his major league debut on April 11, Roger pitched a perfect 11th inning and got the win in a 2-1 Mets victory over the Cardinals at Shea Stadium. He had two scoreless innings and recorded another win in the Mets’ 2-1 triumph over the Reds at Shea on April 13. McDowell earned his first major league save with three hitless innings pitched in a 4-0 Mets win over the Phillies on May 11 at Shea. He pitched three shutout innings for a save in the Mets’ 4-0 victory in the first game of a doubleheader at Atlanta on July 7. Roger had a run-scoring double and pitched three scoreless innings for the save in a 9-3 Mets win over the Padres on August 25 at Shea. He also pitched four shutout innings to get the save in a 4-1 Mets triumph at Philadelphia on September 23.
In 1986, McDowell set a Mets pitching record by appearing in 75 games. He led the team with 22 saves and recorded 14 wins in the Mets’ World Championship season. At Atlanta on April 29, Roger pitched three perfect innings for his first save of the year as the Mets defeated the Braves, 10-5, for their tenth win in a row. He had two scoreless innings and was the winning pitcher in a 1-0 Mets victory over the Braves on May 12 at Shea. McDowell had a pair of scoreless innings to get his seventh consecutive win in the Mets’ 5-2 triumph at Chicago on June 28. He pitched hitless eighth and ninth innings for a save in a 2-1 Mets win on July 1 at St. Louis. In a game in which he also played in the outfield, Roger got credit for the win in a crazy 6-3 Mets triumph in 14 innings at Cincinnati on July 22. At Chicago on September 25, he was the winning pitcher in a 6-5 Mets triumph that gave the team 100 wins for the year.
Roger pitched in seven games in the ’86 post-season. He had a 2.51 ERA with five strikeouts in the National League Championship Series and World Series. On October 27, McDowell was the winning pitcher in the Mets’ 8-5 victory over the Red Sox in Game 7 of the World Series at Shea.
McDowell missed the first six weeks of the 1987 season with an injury. He came back to lead the Mets in saves for the second straight year with 25. At Shea on May 15, Roger had three scoreless innings for a save in the Mets’ 8-3 win over the Giants. He pitched three shutout innings to get a save in an 8-3 Mets victory over the Phillies on June 21 at Shea. McDowell had five saves and two wins in seven game appearances from July 22 to August 3, capped with a win in the Mets’ 3-2 triumph over the Phillies at Shea. He recorded saves in five straight appearances from August 23 to August 31. Roger also recorded two strikeouts in the ninth inning for the save in a 4-3 Mets win over the Expos on September 23 at Shea.
McDowell pitched 89 innings of relief in 1988. He struck out 46 batters and had 16 saves in the Mets’ division-winning season. Roger pitched two shutout innings and got the win in a 3-2 Mets victory over the Cardinals at Shea on April 17. He had two and one-third perfect innings for a save in the Mets’ 7-4 win on May 16 at San Diego. McDowell pitched three scoreless innings and got the save in a 5-2 Mets triumph at Los Angeles on May 22. He had three shutout innings to get the win in an 8-7 Mets victory on June 29 at Pittsburgh. Roger hurled scoreless eighth and ninth innings for the win in a 4-3 Mets victory over the Expos in the opener of a twinbill at Shea on August 14. He also had four strikeouts in three scoreless innings to earn a save in the Mets’ 7-3 win on September 9 at Montreal.
Roger appeared in 25 games for the Mets during the 1989 season. He had a 3.31 ERA in his final year with the team. McDowell recorded his last four saves as a Met in consecutive appearances from April 20 to May 1. He got his last win as a Met in a 2-1 victory over the Padres on May 14 at Shea. At Philadelphia on June 16, Roger pitched his final Mets game in the team’s 15-11 win over the Phillies.
On June 18, 1989, McDowell was traded with Lenny Dykstra to the Phillies for Juan Samuel. He pitched for the Phils and Dodgers through the end of the 1994 season. Roger spent a year with the Rangers and ended his career with the Orioles in 1996. He became the pitching coach for the Braves in 2006.
