“You don’t mention the lead too much”, he said.
Advertisement
Major league batting leader Daniel Murphy homered for the sixth time this year against his former Mets teammates and drove in four runs, leading Max Scherzer and the Washington Nationals over NY 6-1 on Saturday night.
Now in his 21st year as a manager he will try to do the same with the Nationals, who have never won a postseason series.
“Everything for me is starting to come together”, Reyes said, “And now I’m going to have four days off”. “And the players I had – Jeff Kent, Moises Alou, Sammy Sosa, Barry Bonds”.
“He said the expletive brown eye”, Baker said with a laugh.
“We always knew he had some power”.
Who he’s seeing right now is pretty good.
A win by the Nationals, meanwhile, will give them the six-game lead they had following a sweep of the Mets in Washington, D.C. on June 29. The Mets are now six games behind the Nats in the division, same as the Miami Marlins.
Tomorrow, Murphy will represent the Nationals on the NL All-Star team. Scherzer said when asked about Murphy. “How many games over.500 are we? Humbling for the skipper to use those names and slip my name in there, but really excited about where we’re at right now”. The Nationals have also dropped all four of their last four road games when facing a left-hander and despite being 2-0 over the last two days in NY, are just 3-8 in their last 11 road games overall. With a chance to hit for the cycle in the eighth, Murphy worked an eight-pitch walk. But unlike last season, where the Nationals’ collapse opened the door for NY to take center stage in the division, this year NY is riddled with injuries and aren’t likely to acquire a Yoenis Cespedes-type at the deadline that steps in with MVP-like production for the stretch run.
“We’re still in a race,”Collins said”. “If I hit it in the right spot when I’m feeling good, that’s going to happen”. Sky’s the limit (to) what he may become.
During the ensuing off-season, the Mets then opted to not re-sign the 31-year-old Murphy. Now with the Nationals, Murphy is batting.348 with 17 home runs and 66 RBI.
“They’re keyed up coming in here trying to open up a big lead”, Mets manager Terry Collins said. “That’s human nature and its part of the game”.
Verrett (3-6) gave up five runs on only four hits in 6 2/3 innings, but the walks were the difference, including one to opposing pitcher Max Scherzer leading off the third.
Scherzer circled the bases on Ben Revere’s ground-ball triple down the first base line and Murphy later followed with an RBI single. Murphy once again led the Nationals to a victory over the Mets with a two-run homer, his seventh this season against the Mets alone.
It took Murphy less than two months to go from valued ex-player to villain at his former home.
Tanner Roark (3.01 ERA) has been consistent in the first half as a starter after he spent most of a year ago in the bullpen. Verrett allowed five runs, four hits and five walks (one intentional) while striking out three. Werth got that rally started with a leadoff walk. Murphy drew two standing ovations and got a video tribute when he returned for the first time in mid-May.
And to many, despite their recent struggles, the Cubs are the best team in baseball at the half, and favorites to win the pennant and go on to the World Series.
Advertisement
Syndergaard is expected to return and make his start down in Philadelphia under the assumption that a exhausted arm can get back to strength. NY added All-Star right-hander Noah Syndergaard and slugger Yoenis Cespedes to its injury list on Friday and did not have enough without Cespedes in the lineup to make a dent in Nationals star Max Scherzer during Saturday’s 6-1 loss.
