The Mets lose to the Cardinals, 1-0, thanks to a Jose Cruz tenth inning walk-off single off Tom Seaver at Busch Stadium. The defeat drops the eventual National League champs into last place, 6.5 games behind the first-place Redbirds.

Billy Martin orders his pitchers to throw spitballs, in an effort to show the umpiring crew that they don’t consistently enforce the rules when Indians right-hander Gaylord Perry is on the mound. The Tiger manager, suspended for three days by American League president Joe Cronin, doesn’t understand being punished for telling the truth about asking his pitchers to throw illegal pitches.

After a 10-inning, 1 – 0, loss to Cardinals, the last-place Mets drop to 61-71. They’ll finish at 82-79 and make it to first place in the National League East.