Looking back on Bob Ojeda's final playoff win with Mets

On October 21, 1986, Bob Ojeda pitched seven innings against his former Boston team for his final playoff victory with the Mets

By the end of the 1985 season, Ojeda had spent six seasons as a starter and reliever with the Red Sox. He compiled a 44-39 record with an ERA of 4.21 and a WHIP over 1.4 before being sent to the Mets as part of an eight-player trade.

His entire game changed in 1986 where he went 18-5 with a 2.57 ERA and a respectable 2.2 BB/9. His incredible season was one of many that catapulted the Mets into the playoffs and then the World Series.

The Mets suffered losses in the first two games at Shea Stadium, Ron Darling and Dwight Gooden each suffering a loss — but Ojeda was there to turn things around.

Ojeda pitched Game three against four-year teammate Oil Can Boyd. Boyd finished the regular season with Boston’s second most wins, behind Roger Clemens. This was both Ojeda’s first game against Boston since the trade and the first of the series played at Fenway Park.

The Mets scored four runs in the first inning and Ojeda gave up one run over seven innings. He gave up five hits and walked three batters but was able to get out of trouble nearly every time.

1986 was the first and only season that Ojeda made it to the playoffs and he made it count. Before this game, Ojeda pitched Game 2 and 6 of the National League Championship series against the Astros, winning Game 2.

Game 3 of the World Series wasn’t played at Shea with screaming fans, but many were screaming from home at the end. After the first two games, the future looked grim for the Mets. Losses against their two best pitchers put them in a painful hole with three games to play at Fenway.

Ojeda gave it his best and earned not just a win for himself, but the first for the Mets. Had Ojeda continued the streak of poor performances and bad luck, the Mets would have been in an 0-3 hole. The mood would have been darker, and the future would not have been the same.