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On April 26, 1988, Keith Hernandez hit two home runs and knocked in seven, the last of which was his 1,000th career RBI. On this date in 1994, in their first game back after the players' strike, the Mets lost a fourteen-inning slugfest at Coors Field when Dante Bichette hit a two-run homer to give the Rockies an 11-9 win.
Birthdays
- Amos Otis (1967-1969) turns 65. Otis hit .151/.202/.204 in 102 plate appearances for the Miracle Mets of 1969. The Mets sent him to the Royals before the 1970 season in exchange for third baseman Joe Foy. Foy was out of baseball within two years while Otis made five All-Star teams, won three Gold Gloves, and garnered four top-ten MVP finishes.
- Mike Scott (1979-1982) turns 57. Scott was a middling starter for parts of four seasons with the Mets before they shipped him to Houston for utilityman Danny Heep. Scott made three All-Star teams and won the Cy Young award in 1986, leading the league in strikeouts, ERA, and innings pitched. He also went 2-0 in the NLCS that year against the Mets where he tossed a pair of complete games, struck out nineteen, walked just one, and allowed only one run. He was scheduled to pitch Game 7.
- Lou Thornton (1989-1990) turns 49. Thornton had thirteen plate appearances in 1989 and none in 1990. That's all you need to know about Lou Thornon.
- Ricky Trlicek (1996-1997) turns 43. Trlicek tossed five innings in 1996 and another nine in 1997. He's the pitching equivalent of Lou Thornton.
- Scott Strickland (2002-2003) turns 36. Strickland fanned 67 batters in the same number of innings in 2002, but arm injuries kept him out of action for long stretches and he never pitched consistently in the majors again.