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On October 8, 1988 NLCS Game 3…Shea Stadium..Los Angeles Dodgers reliever Jay Howell is ejected in the bottom of the 7th after umpires find a foreign substance on his glove..

full game recap-

Fantastic plays and controversy would mark the afternoon, as the Mets rebounded from deficits twice to earn an 8–4 victory in Game 3.

Following a rainout, Game 3 was played in horrible football-esque weather. The rain that had delayed the game a day turned the field into a muddy mess.

The rainout of the previous night allowed the Dodgers to bring back Orel Hershiser to start on three days’ rest, while the Mets countered with Ron Darling, who got off to a rocky start. The Dodgers scored their first run in the second inning on a throwing error by Keith Hernandez on a bunt attempt by Mike Scioscia. The Dodgers got another run on an RBI ground out by Jeff Hamilton, and a third run in the third inning on an RBI ground out by Kirk Gibson.

But the Mets would not lie down against Hershiser. Darryl Strawberry drove home Mookie Wilson with a double in the bottom of the third inning, and in the sixth inning, the Mets tied the game thanks to some clutch hitting and sloppy Dodgers fielding.

With Hernandez on first and none out, Strawberry singled to left. When Gibson bobbled the ball in the outfield, Hernandez tried to go to third. However, Hernandez slipped twice on the muddy infield, and Gibson was able to recover and throw Hernandez out as he attempted to crawl into third base. Kevin McReynolds reached on an error by third baseman Jeff Hamilton. One out later, back to back singles by Gary Carter and Wally Backman scored the two tying runs, and the Mets had come back once again against Hershiser. But the game was far from over.

With two outs and the bases empty in the top of the eighth inning, Scioscia hit a one-hop comebacker back to Mets pitcher Roger McDowell. McDowell lined up to make a throw, and slipped to the ground on the wet mound. His throw to first was wild, and Scioscia advanced to second base on the error. Following a single, a walk and a pitching change, Randy Myers walked Mike Sharperson to force home a run and give the Dodgers a 4–3 lead.

The Dodgers turned to closer Jay Howell in the bottom of the eighth. Howell ran a three ball, two strike count to McReynolds leading off the inning. Suddenly, Mets Manager Davey Johnson came out of the dugout, and asked Umpire Harry Wendelstedt to inspect Howell’s glove for an illegal substance. Sure enough, Howell was found to have pine tar on his glove, and he was immediately ejected from the game, and would later be suspended for Games 4, 5, and 6. The ejection seemed to undo the Dodgers. Three subsequent relievers failed to hold down the Mets, as they rallied for five runs in the inning after two men were out. Backman doubled home the tying run, Wilson singled home Backman with the lead run and Darryl Strawberry iced the inning with a two-run single.

David Cone would shake off his rocky outing from Game 2, and pitched a scoreless ninth inning to close out the Dodgers and give the Mets a two to one Series lead.

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