Apr. 22, 1962 - The New York Mets lost again today, defeated by the undefeated Pittsburgh Pirates, 4-3. “Well, we played a hard nine again,” said 72-year-old Casey Stengel, “but they wouldn’t let us finish good. He’s a fastball hitter and that’s what he hit, damn it. He’s been a devil for me.” “He” is Bill Mazeroski, whose triple in the eighth drove in the winning run and enabled the Mets to equal the modern National League record for consecutive defeats starting a season. The new club has lost 9 in a row, tying the mark set by the 1918 Brooklyn Dodgers and the 1919 Boston Braves. Four more defeats and the Mets will share the major league mark for losing from the opening bell. The 1904 Washington Senators hold that dubious distinction. With the victory, the Pirates tied the modern major league record of a 10-game win streak at the start of a season run up by the Dodgers in 1955.
