John Ryan Murphy singles twice with a little help from his friends, second and third base

Heading into Thursday's Orioles-Yankees matchup, John Ryan Murphy was hitting .247. In other words, he was getting a hit in about one quarter of his at-bats. So Murphy, like any MLB batter would be, was grateful for any help that might come his way.

Even if it meant playing pinball with the bases.

In the first inning, Murphy softly grounded a pitch down the third-base line -- and we mean down the third-base line, so much so that Manny Machado watched to see if it would roll foul -- before bonking the base and popping up as a fair ball. Murphy's first hit of the game.

For his second hit of the game in the third inning, Murphy lined a ball into right field without, as far as we know, any help from a base. But in the fifth, Murphy shot a pitch from Bud Norris back up the middle, where it ricocheted off second base and over the fielders' heads. Murphy's third hit of the game.

All told, Murphy went 3-for-4 and the Yanks won, 9-3. Hopefully he wrote those bases a heartfelt thank you card after the game.