2007 National League Pennant Race: NL East

Tom Glavine hands Willie Randolph the ball after failing to get out of the first inning in Game 162 against the Florida Marlins on September 30, 2007, at Shea Stadium, which was the final chapter of the New York Mets' historic collapse. Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images.

Jack Butler

The New York Mets were one year removed from the NL East crown, going 97-65, and lost in crushing fashion in Game 7 of the National League Championship Series to the eventual World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals. In Queens, the team looked poised to repeat as division champions in 2007 with the same core of José Reyes, Carlos Beltrán, David Wright, Carlos Delgado, Tom Glavine, and Billy Wagner returning. The only issue was without having the right arm of Pedro Martínez, who missed most of the year after he underwent surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff.

Despite losing their best pitcher, the Mets were hot to start the season, going 34-18, scoring 259 runs and allowing 196 of them for a plus 63-run differential. Reyes was the table-setter where he collected 67 hits, 7 3B, drove in 25 runs, and stole an astonishing 29 bags in his club's first 51 games. The run producers – Beltrán, Wright, and Delgado – collected to hit .267 with 23 HR and 95 RBIs and scored 90 or 34.7% of the team's runs. Glavine went 5-3 in 12 starts during those months, where he struck out 37 batters in 73 1/3 innings, while Wagner converted 13 saves and only allowed four earned runs in 24 innings.

Charlie Manuel’s Philadelphia Phillies went 26-27 over the first two months, scoring 274 runs and allowing 262 for a plus 12-run differential. Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, and Pat Burrell led the way offensively, with Rollins tearing it up with 63 hits, seven 3B, 9 HR, and 32 RBIs. The other three combined to bat .259 with 24 HR and 96 RBI and scored 76 runs or 27.5% of the club's runs. Cole Hamels started 11 games and went 7-2 with a 3.74 ERA and 86 strikeouts in 74 2/3 innings.

After two months, the Mets led the division by 4 1/2 games, with the Phillies trailing by 8 1/2 games. In June and July, Philadelphia took 30 of their 54 games while New York played below .500 at 25-29. The Phillies gained 5 1/2 games in the standings to move ahead of the Atlanta Braves for second place. The Mets rebounded in August, going 15-13, but the Phillies were one game better at 16-12. With a month to play, New York's division lead diminished to just two games.

It was a tale of two halves for the Mets in September, who began the month winning nine of its first 11 contests only to finish the season 5-12 with a devastating final series against the Florida Marlins. This collapse resulted in blowing a seven-game lead in the division in which New York spent 134 consecutive days atop the NL East. It ended when the Marlins defeated New York 7-4 on Sept. 28 at Shea Stadium, while the Phillies won their game against the Washington Nationals 6-0 to take control of first.

The Mets crushed the Marlins the following day 13-0, and the Nationals helped with a 4-2 victory over the Phillies to both be deadlocked, with an 88-73 record. So, it came down to Game 162 with division rivals facing the bottom two NL East clubs, respectively, with a playoff berth on the line.

Future Hall of Famer Tom Glavine was given the ball for the Mets and didn’t even make it out of the first inning. The Marlins rocked him for seven runs where they smacked five base hits with the big blow coming on a Cody Ross two-run double, who came around on Glavine’s throwing error.

The Mets came to the plate in the home half already down 7-0 to face 2003 NL Rookie of the Year Dontrelle Willis. The left-hander allowed a one-out double to Luis Castillo, and Wright moved him over to third on a fly-out. Willis threw a wild pitch to put New York on the board for its only run, which might have been more if the Mets collected a two-out hit with the bases loaded.

New York’s bullpen did its job as it quieted Florida for the next three innings, where Jorge Sosa, Orlando Hernández, and Scott Schoeneweis combined to allow just two hits and no walks, along with four strikeouts. However, its only blemish came when Alejandro De Aza drove home Ross on a double, making it 8-1 Marlins.

The offense disappeared for the Mets since they only collected two hits and went 0 for 3 with RISP from the 2nd inning onward. Kevin Gregg ended their season at 4:31 p.m. by striking out Castillo swinging.

In Philadelphia, the Phillies were on the verge of defeating the Nationals at Citizen Bank Park. The Phillies jumped to an early 1-0 lead on Utley’s sacrifice fly to right to score the speedy Rollins. Two innings later, Howard brought home a pair on a single to make it 3-0.

Veteran 44-year-old right-hander Jamie Moyer kept the Nats in check by tossing 5 1/3 innings of five hits and one run ball while striking out six. The Phillies bullpen pitched the final 3 2/3 innings and as a group, just gave up a lone hit and a walk with five strikeouts. Philadelphia added insurance runs in the sixth and seventh with one and two runs, respectively.

At 4:35 p.m., Brett Myers struck out Willy Mo Pena looking to clinch the division title for the Phillies, and the Mets' dreams of back-to-back NL East crowns were over.