httpss://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QW4JDBCvug
Let me start with a confession: Until he turned the first round of the Mets’ playoff run into the Ballad of Danny Murphy, I had cast a skeptical eye on him.
On a team loaded with top-tier pitching arms, a rocket-armed, escape-velocity Cuban power hitter and a fine team captain at third base, Murphy manages to be the beating mutt-heart of the Mets.
Photo Thursday night, Murphy faced Zack Greinke, a stunningly good pitcher, and hit a double in the first inning that put the Mets on the scoreboard and registered as a tough jab to the Dodgers’ midsection.
In the fourth inning, with the Mets trailing and Jacob deGrom performing an inning-by-inning Harry Houdini escape act, Murphy led off with a single.
When Greinke walked Duda, Murphy did a slow trot toward second base.
In the sixth inning, with the score still tied and Mets fans in a state of high anxiety – I speak from close, anthropological observation of myself, my sons and my wife – Murphy turned on yet another Greinke pitch.
“Did you see his base running last night?” Hernandez asked after a night in which Murphy had run the bases like a headless horseman.
General Manager Sandy Alderson snapped off a salute to Murphy on Thursday night, saying he essentially was a one-man offense.