Daniel Murphy loses track of outs, kills Mets first-inning rally
Even with base coaches and large, shiny scoreboards reminding them after every pitch, major leaguers still manage to forget the number of outs from time to time.
It’s a reminder to the rest of us that these guys are all human, despite their advanced skill level and usually sharp awareness. But that doesn’t make it any less embarrassing for them when said forgetfulness is exposed.
Such was the unfortunate case for New York Mets baserunner Daniel Murphy. During Monday’s game against the Atlanta Braves, Murphy was caught wandering off the field after a force play at another base because he thought the inning was over.
The play happened in the first inning with the Mets mounting a bases loaded, one out threat against Atlanta’s Shelby Miller. Murphy was the runner at second base when Travis d’Arnaud rolled a ground ball to third baseman Adonis Garcia, who tossed to second baseman Daniel Castro for the first out. Castro lost the ball on the exchange, ending any chance for a double play at first base. However, he soon spotted Murphy leaving the field, which led to the unconventional 5-4-6 double play.
The blunder obviously cost the Mets a chance for a big inning. Runners should have been at first and third with two outs for Kelly Johnson and perhaps even Michael Conforto, who homered in the second inning. Fortunately, because the double play was not completed at first base, they still got one run out of the play. So it wasn’t a complete disaster.
On the Braves side, this is pretty much the first bit of good luck Shelby Miller has had in about four months. He came into Wednesday’s outing with a 22-start winless streak that has been filled with wasted gems and ill-timed mistakes. Finally, a big break went in his favor, but it wasn’t enough to end his personal skid. The Mets went on to win 4-0, extending Miller’s streak to 23, while lowering their magic number to win the NL East to six.
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813
