LUCKY NUMBER 7
Extra sweep win for Murphy & Co.
ATLANTA — The Mets’ luck lately: They tried to give away a game Sunday but couldn’t, after Daniel Murphy went to the plate attempting to hit a home run and succeeded.
Welcome to Mets-World, where it’s always 70 degrees and sunny with free ice cream for everyone.
In a mistakefilled afternoon, one swing from Murphy in the ninth inning and subsequent rally in the 10th forgave all for the Mets in their seventh straight victory, 107 over the dreadful Braves at Turner Field.
“I didn’t think I would hit a home run, but I was trying to,” Murphy said after his threerun blast with two outs in the ninth against Ryan Kelly tied the game.
The Braves, who lost for the 24th time in 27 games, had a defensive letdown in the 10th, when third baseman Hector Olivera’s throw pulled Daniel Castro off second base, allowing the goahead run to score. Curtis Granderson and Murphy then walked in succession with the bases loaded for insurance runs.
The Mets (8261) secured their first winning season since 2008 and saw their magic number to clinch the NL East shrink to 11. The Nationals beat the Marlins 50 and remained 9 ½ games behind the Mets in the division.
“We made a commitment last fall to win, and we’re not done — we’ve got a long way to go yet,” manager Terry Collins said. “It shows the commitment the organization made to make this season to be something our fans are excited about. We’ve got 19 more to go, but it’s been pretty fun to watch.”
One ugly play at a time — including Granderson losing Adonis Garcia’s pop up in the sun for two runs in the eighth — the Mets let the Braves take a 74 lead into the ninth. Juan Lagares doubled with two outs in the ninth to start the gametying rally before Granderson walked and Murphy hit his 11th homer of the season.
“We’re not giving atbats away — minus the four atbats I had before I had my good one,” Murphy said. “We’re not giving ABs away, and I think as an offense when you do that, it puts pressure on the pitcher and you can start stacking them on top of each other.”
The Mets committed two errors, but could have been charged with at least four. Even so, the score was 44 in the eighth until Castro slapped an RBI single against Dario Alvarez. Later in the inning, Granderson lost Garcia’s popup to shallow right for two additional runs.
Overall, the Mets went 82 on a road trip that also included stops in Miami and Washington.
“It doesn’t matter who is in there, they all want to be a part of it,” Collins said.
After four straight horrendous starts, Jon Niese kept the Mets in the game by allowing three runs, two earned, on eight hits and one walk over six innings. The lefty had pitched to a 10.53 ERA over his previous four starts.
Murphy booted Freddie Freeman’s grounder — generously scored a single — allowing the Braves to tie the game 44 in the seventh when the ensuing batter, Garcia, hit into a double play.
Granderson’s tworun single in the seventh had given the Mets a 43 lead, after pinchhitter Michael Cuddyer was plunked to load the bases.
Juan Uribe booted Christian Bethancourt’s grounder for an error, helping the Braves score an unearned run in the sixth to take a 32 lead. Michael Bourn’s sacrifice fly brought in the run.
Andrelton Simmons’ RBI single in the third made it 22 against Niese, who allowed four singles in the inning. But Lucas Duda muffed Garcia’s foul popup (not ruled an error) before Garcia delivered an RBI single for the Braves’ first run. Michael Conforto’s tworun homer in the second inning gave the Mets a 20 lead.
“Our pitchers had to step up, we did not play the best defensive game we ever played,” Collins said. “We didn’t give them much support, but they are just fun to watch.”