Murphy Mobbed

Daniel Murphy clubbed the game winning hit in the bottom of the ninth inning yesterday at Citi Field to lift the New York Mets to a 3-2 win over the visiting Giants from San Francisco. Jeff Francoeur scored the final run for the home team in a game that featured solid starting pitching from both teams. The Mets didn’t make a grand statement or a dramatic exit but the walkoff was thrilling nonetheless.
The Mets, an already ailing ball club, were minus their All-Star third baseman, David Wright. Wright could miss as much as the rest of the season after suffering a concussion during Saturday’s second game of the four game set with the Giants. Wright was beaned on the left ear piece of his helmet by a 90 mph fastball from San Francisco youngster, Matt Cain. Cain did not intentionally throw at Wright, but was clearly trying to pitch Wright up and in. The Met slugger could not get out of the way quick enough and dropped to the batter’s box dirt as soon as the pitch struck his head. Wright was carried off the field and taken to a hospital, where he underwent testing. He spent the night at the hospital and his CT scan came back negative. Jerry Manuel, the first year Mets manager, stated the staff is unsure when Wright will return to play. The club is also undecided as to whether or not David should be placed on the disabled list. It’s one horror after another for the Metropolitans. Wright had been a formidable figure in Queens and seeing him go down in the manner he did was enough to raise the hair on my arm.
Scrappy, slap-hitting Luis Castillo, made up for some New York’s missing offense Sunday afternoon against the Giants’ no-hit tosser, Jonathan Sanchez. The second baseman belted his first homerun of 2009 with an upper-deck two-run shot to give the Mets a 2-1 lead in the fifth. Mike Pelfrey made the start for the Amazin’s. Pelfrey allowed a run in the top of the fifth inning on left fielder, Eugenio Velez’s single. Velez, a .292 hitter for San Francisco, connected for one of his two hits on the day to score Eli Whiteside. Angel Pagan hit a two out double that bounced off the glove of the Giants’ Fred Lewis in left field during the fifth.. Castillo then put the Mets on top with his two out, 3-1 blast into the stands to finely finish the bottom of the frame. You have to wonder about a pitcher who throws a no-hitter and gives up a homerun to Castillo in the same season.
The Giants came back to tie the game in the eighth inning. Randy Winn doubled to centerfield to score Velez. The Mets bullpen held strong in relief of Pelfrey. Brian Stokes, Pedro Feliciano and Francisco Rodriguez combined for a 1 2/3 scoreless and hitless effort. Feliciano successfully retired pinch hitter, Ryan Garko. Garko has hit lefties well but he smoked a 3-2 offering directing into the glove of Castillo at second. San Francisco tried to tack on more runs in the ninth but KRod struck out the side. In the bottom half, New York ended the game, making Sergio Romo the losing pitcher. Francoeur lined a base hit off Romo to open the ninth. Then, Fernando Tatis placed down a perfect sacrifice bunt before Murphy drove a Jeremy Affeldt curveball to right field to decide the game. Perhaps skipper, Bruce Bochy, should have left Romo in the game to face right-handers. Bochy chose to summon Affeldt from the bullpen instead of having Romo intentionally walk Murphy to face Omir Santos. The Mets mobbed Murphy and went home winners. Murphy is only hitting .279 on the season, with seven long balls. He has 40 RBIs but only two in his last 17 at-bats. It’s about time Daniel came up with a game-winning crack. The walkoff single was a feel-good moment for a team that has had anything but this summer.
Rodriguez was the hurler on the winning side for the Mets. It was a well-fought game on both fronts but you have to give Pelfrey credit for keeping the team in the game. He is only an even 8-8 this year but provided a quality 7 plus innings yesterday at home. Pelfrey pitched one of his best outings, whiffing five batters and giving up just five hits. It was the third time in 2009 Pelfrey went at least seven innings for Manuel. Sanchez and Pelfrey both got no-decisions in the contest but pitched well enough to deserve mention. The team still trails in NL East by eleven or so games. I was very surprised to see Castillo go deep. It was his first homerun since May 2008, and it was certainly hard hit. The Giants don’t have much of a lineup, but their pitching is as good as any staff in the National League. Their six losses in nine games have not destroyed their playoff chances. The team just tends to specialize in flat defeats and failing to capitalize early in games. They are currently in a heated playoff race for the wildcard. The Giants and Florida Marlins trail the Colorado Rockies by one game for the NL wildcard.
On a different note, I would love to see the Mets return to a uniform similar to the throwback ones they wore during the Giants series. I dig the cream color, pinstripes and the lettering on the jerseys. Even the Mets announcers alluded to the handsome digs the team was sporting. It would be an improvement over the bland black road silks the Mets are currently swaddled in.
Parting points: There’s an interesting new book about UT football coming out this week. It’s called “On Rocky Top” and written by Clay Travis. Legendary coach, Bill Walsh, also has a new sports philosophy book coming out later this month.
Happy Birthday to Jorge Posada! Too bad the Mariners clobbered the Yankees yesterday.
Today’s lyric: “Everybody needs to cry or needs to spit. Every sweet tooth needs just a little hit”- from U2’s “I’ll Go Crazy”