The Red Sox, who held a 3–2 series lead, were twice one strike away from securing the championship, but failed to close out the inning as the Mets won off an error by Boston first baseman Bill Buckner.

On July 19, Mets' infielder Tim Teufel and pitchers Rick Aguilera, Bobby Ojeda, and Ron Darling were arrested after fighting with policemen outside a bar in Houston.

[9] The gritty play of eventual ALCS MVP Marty Barrett and Rich Gedman; clutch hitting from veterans Jim Rice, Wade Boggs, Don Baylor, Dwight Evans and Dave Henderson; and quality starting pitching, especially from 1986 American League MVP and Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens, Bruce Hurst and Oil Can Boyd, pushed the Red Sox to the World Series.

New York's Ron Darling was equally effective, yielding only one unearned run in the seventh inning when second baseman Tim Teufel committed an error by letting a ground ball from Rich Gedman go through his legs, allowing Jim Rice to score from second.

Red Sox closer Calvin Schiraldi, acquired from the Mets in the previous offseason, walked Darryl Strawberry to lead off the bottom of the ninth inning.

Aguilera loaded the bases in the seventh, and after consecutive RBI singles by Henderson and Owen, was pulled in favor of Jesse Orosco, who shut down the Red Sox over the next two innings.

After the rocky start, Red Sox starter Oil Can Boyd settled down, but Bob Ojeda pitched well and Boston was unable to overcome their early deficit.

In the top of the seventh inning, Boston right fielder Dwight Evans almost robbed Lenny Dykstra of a two-run home run only for the ball to bounce out of his glove and over the wall.

In the eighth inning, the Red Sox scored two runs on an Evans single and a Dave Henderson sacrifice fly off of Roger McDowell, but it was not enough, and the Mets evened the series at two games apiece to ensure a return to New York.

Although Clemens had struck out eight Mets batters and had only allowed one earned run to this point in the game, manager John McNamara decided to call for a pinch hitter.

Despite having power hitting veteran Don Baylor on his bench, McNamara chose to send up rookie Mike Greenwell as he felt the matchup against McDowell favored him.

Wally Backman followed with another bunt to move Mazzilli and Dykstra into scoring position, and Schiraldi intentionally walked Keith Hernandez to load the bases for Gary Carter.

When asked later about his decision to leave Buckner in the game, McNamara initially said that he felt that he deserved to stay on the field for the potential final out to preserve the victory and the championship.

Several times during the ensuing series of pitches, second baseman Barrett realized that Knight was straying too far from the base and that if he could get Stanley to turn and throw to him, he would have an easy pickoff play and the inning could have ended there.

[23] In his 2023 appearance with Rich Eisen, Hernandez remarked that, because Buckner had spent a significant part of his career playing in the National League, he was more than familiar with Wilson and his baserunning speed.

The Commissioner's Trophy had been brought into the Red Sox clubhouse along with several bottles of champagne, team co-owner/president Jean Yawkey and pitcher Bruce Hurst (who had already been named the series MVP by the sportswriters) with Bob Costas ready to preside over the presentation.

The rainout enabled Bruce Hurst, who had only allowed two runs against the Mets in his wins in Games 1 and 5, to get a third day of rest before the series ended; since he was now available to use as a starter again, McNamara opted to start him ahead of Boyd.

Gedman's home run was noteworthy for several reasons: It occurred on the first pitch after a delay of just over three minutes during which portable stands down the first base line had to be restored after several fans reaching for a foul ball had caused them to collapse.

Backman managed to score on the play to tie the game, but the Mets lost the opportunity to have Darryl Strawberry come up with a chance to drive in the go ahead run; instead, Hurst got him to fly out and escaped further damage.

After putting Wilson on intentionally, Sambito walked Backman to load the bases and Hernandez followed with a sacrifice fly to score Santana and give the Mets a three-run advantage.

Santana was intentionally walked to get to the pitcher's spot, but Orosco not only came to bat but also managed to drive Knight in as he swung away on a fake bunt attempt to extend the lead back to three.

Orosco worked a 2–2 count before getting Barrett to swing and miss, then tossed his glove high into the air and dropped to his knees as the Mets all converged on the mound to celebrate their world championship victory.

When Orosco recorded the final out, the Giants were driving late in the third quarter and a collective roar went up from the crowd as the stadium scoreboard operator flashed “METS WIN” on the board to inform the fans of the result.

He would be fired the next year with the Red Sox barely above .500 at the All-Star break, and his successor Joe Morgan led the team to a comeback and division title.

Buckner's error made him a scapegoat in Red Sox fans' eyes for some time afterward, but following their world championship victory in 2004 the fanbase began to embrace him again.

In the 1998 film Rounders, Matt Damon's character (Mike McDermott) references Game 6 while returning into Teddy KGB's place in the final scene.

In the 2005 film Fever Pitch, the main character played by Jimmy Fallon, a die hard Red Sox fan, watches a tape of the ending to Game 6 to get over what looks to be his break up with his girlfriend.

"[90][91] Although it had long been noted that the selling of Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees had marked the beginning of a down period in the Red Sox's fortunes, this was one of the first instances, if not the first, in which mention of a "curse" was made.

In a 1999 episode of The King of Queens ("Rayny Day"), Doug Heffernan promises Richie Ianucci that they will watch the Series that is being rerun on TV, only to abandon him for Ray Barone, who invites him to play golf (with Arthur Spooner tagging along) until a rainstorm ends their plans.

In the Curb Your Enthusiasm episode "Mister Softee", Bill Buckner appears as a guest star and mocks his famous 1986 mishap by missing a crucial catch of a Mookie Wilson-signed baseball.