By BRIAN COSTELLO
June 1, 2008
As both New York baseball stadiums prepare to close, The Post looks back at the 25 most memorable moments in the history of Shea. This week: No. 17:
Oct. 11, 1986
In the first playoff game at Shea Stadium in 13 years, Lenny Dykstra slugged a two-run home run in the ninth inning to give the Mets an electrifying 6-5 victory over the Astros in Game 3 of the NLCS.
Dykstra entered the game as a pinch hitter in the seventh inning and struck out. Two innings later, though, with one on and one down, he drilled the second pitch thrown to him by Dave Smith over the right field fence, sending 55,052 fans into a frenzy that rocked Shea.
The Mets were down by four runs after just two innings, but rallied to take a 2-1 lead in the series on Dykstra's homer.
"Dykstra does like to swing for the fences," Mets manager Davey Johnson said. "I tell him all the time: 'If you hit line drives, you'd hit .330 every year.' But I forgive him today."
Dykstra usually led off for the Mets and had just eight homers that season. But he came through with one of the most dramatic long balls in team history.
"The last time I hit a home run to win a game in the bottom of the ninth," he said, "was playing Stratomatic against my brother where you roll the dice. I rolled some good numbers."
Houston beat up Mets starter Ron Darling for a 4-0 lead after two innings, two runs coming off a homer by Bill Doran. The Mets tied the game with a four-run sixth. Darryl Strawberry provided the drama in that inning with a three-run home run to right field off Bob Knepper.
The Astros regained the lead in the seventh without getting a hit. They used a walk, a bunt and throwing error by Ray Knight to take a 5-4 lead.
Wally Backman set up Dykstra's dramatics in the ninth with a drag bunt up the first-base line. Glenn Davis fielded it and Backman lunged around him into foul territory then came back to the bag on a slide. Houston thought Backman ran out of the base line, but the umps did not agree.
