The 1986 National League Championship Series was a best-of-seven postseason series in Major League Baseball’s 1986 postseason between the NL East champion New York Mets and NL West champion Houston Astros. It was the 18th NLCS and the first MLB playoff series in which the opponents were two "expansion" teams that had begun play in the same season (). The series was won by the Mets, four games to two, culminating with their 7–6, 16-inning triumph at the Astrodome in Game 6. New York then defeated the Boston Red Sox in the 1986 World Series, four games to three.

Background

After falling short of the NL East title in 1984 and 1985, the Mets, managed by Davey Johnson, captured first place in 1986 by posting a 108–54 record, games ahead of the second-place rival Philadelphia Phillies. The title was the third in Mets' history and first since winning the 1973 NL pennant.

Meanwhile, Houston recorded a mark of 96–66 to capture the NL West title, clinching the crown when staff ace Mike Scott threw a no-hitter against the San Francisco Giants, marking the first time any team had clinched a division championship with a no-hitter. It was also the first time the Astros had won a division in six seasons. Houston was managed by Hal Lanier. Heading the Astros rotation were two former New York Mets, Mike Scott and Nolan Ryan; Scott, Ryan, and Bob Knepper were utilized by Lanier as his starting pitchers, which meant that late season acquisition Danny Darwin would be saved up for a World Series start.

The Mets won seven of their 12 regular-season contests against the Astros, taking five of six at home and losing four of six in Houston, including a three-game sweep in July during which New York's Bob Ojeda, Ron Darling, Tim Teufel, and Rick Aguilera were arrested for a scuffle with off-duty cops working as bouncers. Home field advantage, from 1969 to 1993, alternated between division winners, regardless of record. The Mets were to have home field advantage for this series, as the Dodgers (the 1985 NL West Champions) had it the previous year, however, a regular season NFL game between the Chicago Bears and Houston Oilers made the Astrodome unavailable for October 12. Consequently, Games 1, 2, 6, and 7, were scheduled for the Astrodome to avoid conflicts (Shea Stadium became a baseball-only facility when the New York Jets left for Giants Stadium in New Jersey after their 1983 season). The East would host the following LCS in 1987.

Both franchises came into the league together in 1962. The Astros held an 111–59 lifetime record against the Mets in Houston, which was a topic of debate leading into the NLCS considering the Astros held home-field advantage.

Summary

Houston Astros vs. New York Mets

Game summaries

Game 1

Game 1 featured a pitching duel between eventual NLCS Most Valuable Player Mike Scott and Mets ace Dwight Gooden. Scott allowed just five hits and walked one while striking out 14 in a complete-game effort as the host Astros prevailed 1–0. Gooden allowed one run in his seven innings, getting Scott to ground into a double play to end an Astros threat in the bottom of the fourth inning.

Houston first baseman Glenn Davis hit a long home run leading off the second inning, producing the game's lone run. Scott struck out Wally Backman and Keith Hernandez to escape a jam in the top of the eighth inning. With one out in the top of the ninth inning, Darryl Strawberry singled, stole second and reached third on a Mookie Wilson groundout. However, Scott struck out Ray Knight to end the game. The Mets and Astros had also played a 15-inning contest that lasted 5 hours and 29 minutes during the regular season, which Houston won 9–8.

This was the last game in which the Astros wore their "tequila sunrise" (or "rainbow guts") uniform top, which the franchise introduced in 1975 and became one of the most iconic, if infamous, uniforms in MLB history. The Astros demoted the tequila sunrise top to alternate status in 1987, and instead designated a white version of their restrained cream-colored road top as the official home top.

Composite box

1986 NLCS (4–2): New York Mets over Houston Astros

Series statistics

Astros' pitcher Mike Scott was named the series' Most Valuable Player after going 2–0 with a 0.50 earned-run average, allowing one earned run on eight hits and one walk in 18 innings. Also for Houston, Nolan Ryan went 0–1 with a 3.86 ERA, striking out 17 through 14 innings, and Bob Knepper posted an ERA of 3.52 with no decisions in his two starts. The Astros' bullpen allowed seven runs and took three of the losses in the series as Dave Smith (9.00 ERA), Charlie Kerfeld (8.10), and Aurelio López (2.25) dropped decisions.

For the Mets' pitching staff, lefty reliever Jesse Orosco went 3–0 with an ERA of 3.38 in the series, allowing three earned runs on five hits and two walks in eight innings. He was the first reliever ever to win 3 games in a playoff series, setting a record. Ojeda notched New York's other victory and was 1–0 with a 2.57 ERA in his 14 innings of work. Dwight Gooden went 0–1 with an ERA of 1.06 in 17 innings and Ron Darling had no decisions with a 7.20 ERA with Sid Fernandez going 0–1 with a 4.50 ERA as they each made one start. Right-hander Roger McDowell allowed no earned runs and one hit in seven innings of relief work.

The Astros' offense saw Billy Hatcher bat .280 with three walks, a home run, and two RBI and three stolen bases for the series. Glenn Davis hit .269 with a home run and three RBI, Kevin Bass batted .292 with two doubles and four walks, and Bill Doran had a homer with three RBI. Houston hit .218 with five home runs in the six games.

For New York, Lenny Dykstra batted .304 with a double, triple, home run, and three RBI. Keith Hernandez hit .269 with three RBI and Strawberry homered twice with five RBI to go with 12 strikeouts. The Mets batted .189 with three homers for the series.

Despite losing, the Astros outplayed the Mets for most of the series. The Astros were tied or leading in 55 of the 64 innings played in the six-game series. Houston's pitching also dominated. The Mets struck out 57 times and had the lowest team batting average, .189, of any National League Championship Series winner.

Aftermath

Like 1980, the Astros came up once again on the wrong end of a classic series. In all, four of the games in the NLCS came down to one run, and two runs decided a fifth game. The series featured a pair of extra-inning games that combined for a postseason record 10 innings of extra play. Despite only going six games, Fangraphs, via a mathematical formula, named it the 6th best playoff series in MLB history in 2011. The Mets would win another instant-classic series a week and a half later when they beat the Boston Red Sox in seven games to win their second World Series in franchise history.

During and years after the '86 NLCS, Mets players expressed belief that Astros' ace pitcher Mike Scott was illegally scuffing the ball during his Cy Young award winning season. In spring training of 1987, Gary Carter even stated the defending champion Mets had "unfinished business" when discussing Scott's performance against them in the NLCS. Scott performed well in 1987, posting 3.23 earned run average against a 16-13 record, but his strikeout rate fell from 10 strikeouts per 9 to 8.5. Scott posted a loss to the Mets twice in 1987, losing a pitcher's duel to Sid Fernandez in April at Shea and getting roughed up in a start in Houston in July. Overall, the Mets were still one of the best teams in baseball in 1987, but finished three games behind the St. Louis Cardinals in the NL East, thus not qualifying for the postseason. In an MLB Network’s documentary about the 1986 season in 2011, Mike Scott finally admitted to "doctoring" the baseball during that season for the first time publicly.

The Astros chances at a pennant and World Series slipped away in the subsequent seasons after 1986. Mike Scott continued to perform as one of the best pitchers in baseball until an arm injury in 1991 forced him to retire. Nolan Ryan left Houston after a contract dispute following the 1988 season and signed with the Texas Rangers, where he stayed until his retirement at the age of 46. Ryan returned to the Astros in 2014 as an executive adviser under owner Jim Crane, a position he held until 2019. The Astros did not make the postseason again until 1997.

Game 6 would end up being the final MLB game that Keith Jackson would do play by play for ABC Sports. Jackson would continue to call various other sports for the network (most notably their college football telecasts) until his retirement after the 2006 Rose Bowl.

References

  • 1986 NLCS at Baseball Reference