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New York Mets Win Behind Daniel Murphy’s Ninth Inning Heroics

By Michael Papandrea

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It took them nine innings, but the New York Mets eventually put some runs on the board on their way to a 3-1 victory over the Miami Marlins. The Marlins, who had won five straight entering the contest, now fall to 0-5 against the Mets this season.

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At 1 hour and 58 minutes, it was the quickest game recorded in all of baseball this season, as both pitchers were throwing gems while pitching to contact. Dillon Gee threw eight innings while giving up one run on six hits with three strikeouts. His opposition, Jarred Cosart threw eight innings while giving up no runs on just two hits, three walks, and two strikeouts.

For Gee, it was an important start as Daniel Muno is being sent down in favor of Rafael Montero to give pitchers like Matt Harvey or, the soon to be 42-year-old, Bartolo Colon, an extra day of rest. If Montero performs well in his new role, he could be potentially replace Gee in the rotation. Gee has progressively gotten better over his four starts on the year. He gave up five runs in his first start, four in his second, two runs for the third, and he capped off his first month with a 1 run, 7.2 inning performance.

Offensively, the team was struggling to get anything going as Cosart retired seven straight batters on two separate occasions. In the sixth inning with the score tied at 0-0, and Curtis Granderson leading off with a walk, the Mets’ hottest hitter, Juan Lagares, attempted to drop down a sacrifice bunt. Instead of getting it down, he popped it up, and rookie catcher, J.T. Realmuto, snagged it in the air and quickly threw it to first for the double play.

Things were looking bleak after that, and it wasn’t until the eighth inning when a team finally put a run on the board. After back-to-back two out hits for the Marlins, Martin Prado singled to center field to put the fish up 1-0. Gee would be taken out after that as Giancarlo Stanton stepped to the plate. On one pitch, Carlos Torres got the out to end the inning.

After watching the Marlins string together three straight two out hits to produce a run, the feeling in the Mets dugout could not have been positive. But on an 2-2 count, Lagares changed that by hitting a double into the gap of right-center to begin the ninth. Lucas Duda would draw his third walk of the night to put runners on first and second with no outs. Thats when Daniel Murphy crushed an inside fastball over the right-center field fence.

Murphy had reportedly worked with hitting coach, Kevin Long, to adjust his stance. He now stands closer to the plate which should help him to cover more of the strike zone. It helped in the final game of the Yankee series as he went 2-for-3 with a walk and two RBI. The adjustments certainly paid off in that at-bat, which led to their 3-1 win.

In the bottom of the ninth, Murphy was at it again, this time, making a great play with his glove by ranging to his left and making a spinning throw to first base. The next batter grounded out to Wilmer Flores, who was tested heavily in this game defensively, for the final out.

The entire infield was tested in this game, as Gee recorded 15 ground ball outs on an incredibly efficient 70 pitches. 57 of those for strikes, 13 for balls. That’s a ratio you are more likely to see in MLB the Show than an actual MLB contest. He didn’t get the win, but his effort did not go unnoticed.

This game was an improbable win for the team as they had many obstacles to overcome. They had just dropped a series to their crosstown rivals, they barely got sleep on their trip to Miami, and they were facing a team that had won five straight. The fact that they came back in the ninth to win is a huge momentum boost to start this series. Through their first 20 games, the team is 15-5 and 4.5 games atop their division.

Next: Are the Mets No.1 in the MLB Power Rankings?

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