The hernia, coupled with a sore elbow, delayed Zachry's 1977 Spring training, and denied him the opening day start.[10] He did not pitch until the fifth game of the season against the Houston Astros. He gave up three runs in his first inning of work.[11] In the month of May, Zachry was 0–4 with a 9.85 ERA. Following an 8–0 loss to Tom Seaver and the New York Mets at Shea Stadium on June 7, Zachry had a 3–7 record with a 5.04 ERA.[12][13]
New York Mets
Tom Seaver, meanwhile, engaged in a contract dispute with Mets chairman M. Donald Grant, and had requested a trade.[14] On June 15, 1977, the Reds traded Zachry, Doug Flynn, Steve Henderson, and Dan Norman to the Mets in exchange for Seaver; Zachry was considered the "principal figure" acquired by the Mets in the deal.[15][16] Over the rest of the season, Zachry went 7–6 with a 3.76 ERA, and was the only Mets starting pitcher to post a winning record besides Seaver (7–3).[17]
After defeating his former club on April 30,[18] he finished the first month of the 1978 season with a 3–0 record and 1.85 ERA. A complete game victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on June 7[19] improved his record to 7–1, and Zachry was selected as the sole Mets representative on the National League All-Star team,[20] though he did not appear in the game.[21]
On July 24, the Cincinnati Reds came to Shea Stadium with Pete Rose entering the game with a 36-game hitting streak. Zachry held Rose hitless in his first three at-bats, but Rose ultimately tied Tommy Holmes' N.L. record 37 game streak with a single to left in the seventh inning. Four batters later, Zachry was pulled in favor of Kevin Kobel. Frustrated, Zachry went to kick a batting helmet sitting on the dugout steps, missed, and kicked the step. He suffered contusions in his left foot, and left on crutches.[22] He was lost for the remainder of the season.[2]
In the 1980 season, Zachry logged 164+2⁄3innings pitched. His 3.01 ERA was tops among Mets starters, although lack of run support led to his 6–10 record.[23] On July 25[24] and July 30,[25] Zachry shut out his opponent in consecutive starts. His streak would have hit three were it not for three unearned runs in the eighth inning of his next start.[26]
Before the 1981 season, Zachry and the Mets signed a five-year contract worth $2 million.[27] Zachry shut out the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field in the 1981 season opener.[28] He won each of his first three starts, but then fell into a five-game losing streak in which his ERA was 6.93, and opposing batters hit .330. His record stood at 5–7 with a 4.16 ERA when the players' strike interrupted the season. On the first day of the strike, Zachry's wife, Sharron, gave birth to their son, Joshua.[29] Zachry finished the season with a 7–14 record and a 4.14 ERA.[30] The 14 losses tied with Steve Mura of the San Diego Padres for the most in the National League.[31]
In his first start of the 1982 season, Zachry took a no-hitter into the eighth inning. He walked lead-off batter Keith Moreland, retired the next two batters, walked Tye Waller, and then pinch hitterBob Molinaro hit a single to right to break up the no-hitter and the shut out. The Cubs scored four runs that inning, only one of them earned.[32] New Mets managerGeorge Bamberger used Zachry as both a starter and reliever in 1982. He went 2–3 with a 2.11 ERA as a reliever, and earned his first career save on August 15 against the Cubs.[33]
Los Angeles Dodgers
During the 1982–1983 offseason, the Mets traded Zachry to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Jorge Orta.[34] In his two seasons with the Dodgers, Zachry pitched exclusively in relief, except for one emergency start made in the second game of a doubleheader against the Mets at Shea on August 30, 1983 (he held his former team scoreless for six innings before giving way to the bullpen).[35] He ended his first season in Los Angeles with a 6–1 record and 2.49 ERA, and returned to the post-season for the first time since his rookie season. He appeared in games three and four of the 1983 National League Championship Series, both won by the Philadelphia Phillies by final scores of 7–2. In four total innings pitched, he allowed one earned run and four hits, while striking out two.[36]
For the 1984 season, he went 5–6 with two saves and a 3.81 ERA.[37]
Philadelphia Phillies
Before the 1985 season, the Dodgers traded Zachry to the Phillies for slugging first basemanAl Oliver.[38] With Kent Tekulve and Don Carman already in their bullpen, Zachry's role with the Phillies was very limited. After just ten appearances (mostly in losses), Zachry was released by the Phillies in June 1985 with no decisions and a 4.26 ERA.[2]
On November 21, 2016, Zachry was injured, and his wife killed, in a car crash on Interstate 35 in Texas.[39]
Zachry's teammate, Johnny Bench, reported that Zachry died on April 4, 2024. He was 71.[40] According to the Mets, Zachry died at his son Josh's home in Austin, Texas, following a lengthy illness.[41]