Daniel Murphy Boner Leads to 7-4 Mets Loss

We know how is it with Daniel Murphy — we have to put up with his shaky defense is order to take advantage of his bat. Well, then Murphy technically didn’t disappoint in Monday night’s game, as a really dumb fielding play in the 10th inning led to a 7-4 Mets loss.

The Mets trailed the Marlins all game long until Lucas Duda hit a two-run home run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to tie the score at three. It was the second straight game that a ninth inning homer tied the score. It would be the second straight game the Mets would blow it.

With one out in the tenth with runners on first and second, DeWayne Wise singled to right. Daniel Murphy, playing first base on Monday, cut off the throw as the runner stopped at third. However Wise kept running and was caught between first and second. Murphy ran towards Wise, glancing back to make sure the runner on third didn’t break home. But by the time he flipped the ball to Justin Turner covering first, Wise was back on the base.

Murphy should have immediately thrown the ball to Turner, who obviously had a better view of the runner at third than Murphy. And Wise had nowhere to go — second base was occupied. Just an extremely poor play.

Had first base been open, the Mets would have walked young slugger Mike Stanton. Instead they had to pitch to him, and of course Stanton promptly hit a grand slam off of losing pitcher Jason Isringhausen (below). And that was all she wrote.

Ironically, earlier in the game the broadcast crew was chatting about Murphy’s baserunning blunder in Washington Sunday. Keith Hernandez was saying that Murphy just does not have good baseball instincts, that he doesn’t know what to do in unexpected situations. One of those situations happens in the tenth, and Murphy was clueless.

In any case, the Mets are now losers of three straight, just one game over .500 and remain 7.5 games back of the Braves in the Wild Card.