Schwei: Bad Weekend in D.C., Murphy's Big Day And More Mets Notes
By John Schweibacher
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The Mets have lost three games in a row for the first time since the middle of June as they head to Miami to take on the Marlins.
The last time the Mets were in Miami was in late May, when New York was riding a five-game winning streak, which included four straight wins over the Yankees. But the Mets were swept in the three-game set by the Marlins.
Since that series began, the Marlins have the best record in the National League East:
NL East standings on May 30th:
•Atlanta: 32-21, .604
•Washington: 27-27, .500
•Philadelphia: 26-28, .481
•NY Mets: 22-29, .431
•Miami: 13-41, .241
NL East records since May 30th:
•Miami: 27-22, .551
•Atlanta: 28-24, .538
•Washington: 25-27, .481
•NY Mets: 24-27, .471
•Philadelphia: 23-28, .451
The Marlins have won eight of the 11 games against the Mets so far in 2013, including a 5-1 mark at home in Marlins Park. The Mets worst-ever season record on the road against the Marlins was in 2010, when they went 1-8 vs. the Marlins away from Citi Field.
The Mets shut out the Nationals, 11-0, in the first game of their split doubleheader last Friday. Daniel Murphy went 4-for-5 with two homers and five RBIs in the win. It was just the 10th time in Mets history that a player had at least that many hits, homers and RBIs in game:
• 7/19/70: Joe Foy at SF, 5-for-5, 2 HRs & 5 RBIs
• 6/22/80: Claudell Washington at LA, 4-for-5, 3 HRs & 5 RBIs
• 8/5/85: Darryl Strawberry at CHI, 4-for-4, 3 HRs & 5 RBIs
• 9/7/89: Gregg Jefferies vs STL, 4-for-5, 2 HRs & 5 RBIs
• 6/10/96: Todd Hundley vs ATL, 4-for-4, 2 HRs & 5 RBIs
• 5/5/97 Todd Hundley at COL, 4-for-4, 2 HRs & 5 RBIs
• 7/20/97: Todd Hundley vs CIN, 4-for-4, 2 HRs & 5 RBIs
• 7/31/99: Robin Ventura at CHI, 4-for-5, 2 HRs & 6 RBIs
• 8/30/99: Edgardo Alfonzo at HOU, 6-for-6, 3 HRs & 5 RBIs
• 7/26/13: Daniel Murphy at WAS, 4-for-5, 2 HRs & 5 RBIs
Murphy's big game came while batting second in the Mets' lineup, and leadoff hitter Juan Lagares came through in the opener as well, with three hits in four at-bats and three runs scored.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, only twice before had the Mets' starters in the first two slots in the batting order each registered at least three hits and three runs scored in the same game. Mookie Wilson and Gregg Jefferies did it at Wrigley Field on September 8, 1988, and Jose Reyes and Angel Pagan also combined to do so against the Tigers at Citi Field on June 22, 2010.
John Buck knocked in three runs in the Mets' win over the Braves last Thursday afternoon. It was the sixth time this season that Buck knocked in at least three runs in a game as a catcher. According to Elias, the last Mets catcher to have six such games in one season was Mike Piazza in 2005 (12).
Dan Uggla hit his 20th home run of the season in the Braves' 8-2 win over the Mets last Wednesday. It was Uggla's 10th home run at Citi Field, the most by any visiting player. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Uggla is one of three players to homer at Citi Field in each of the five seasons since it opened. The others are David Wright and Joey Votto.
Uggla hit his 11th Citi Field homer on Thursday in the Mets' 7-4 win over the Braves. Only nine Mets have hit 11 or more career home runs at Citi Field:
• David Wright: 39
• Ike Davis: 28
• Lucas Duda : 21
• Carlos Beltran: 15
• Angel Pagan: 15
• Jose Reyes: 13
• Scott Hairston: 13
• Daniel Murphy: 13
• Jason Bay: 11
• Dan Uggla: 11
The Mets and Royals will meet for just the third time ever this weekend.
The first series between the clubs was back in June of 2002 at Shea Stadium, when the Mets took two of three. In June of 2004, the Royals won two of three at Kauffman Stadium.
Nine Miles of Rough Road: Carlos Torres -- His ERA rose from 0.94 to 3.13 after allowing eight runs in three innings in Sunday's loss to the Nationals.
Happy Recap: Daniel Murphy -- Despite going 0-for-4 in Sunday's loss, the Mets' second baseman is hitting .299 with three homers and 17 RBIs in July.
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