Mets ready to forget mistake-filled 'bad night'
NEW YORK -- Daniel Murphy wrestled his glove off and shook it around, like maybe with some jiggling and a little luck, it would work better on the other hand. He raised it to his face and may have uttered some unspeakables. It was only the fifth inning, but in that moment, Murphy already summed up the Mets' entire night.
The Mets have still won 12 of 14, even after Sunday night's 6-4 loss to the Yankees. But they head to Miami no longer the hottest team even in the National League East and hoping Sunday represents an uncharacteristic blip.
"Just a bad night for us," said manager Terry Collins, whose team committed a season-high four errors. "We didn't play well, and you're not going to win games if you go out and give up that many outs."
By a conservative count, the Mets allowed the Yankees at least six extra outs due to physical and mental mistakes on both sides of the field. Two came when Murphy's error spoiled a routine double-play ball that would have cleared the bases but instead put runners on first and third. Another immediately followed when Wilmer Flores fielded another tailor-made grounder and threw it into the stands.
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The next half-inning, Eric Campbell was doubled off first base on a routine fly ball after he forgot the number of outs. Campbell didn't have a runner in front of him, because earlier Murphy was forced out at second after opting not to slide. Because Murphy slowed down, Yankees second baseman Gregorio Petit was able to corral Stephen Drew's errant flip and beat Murphy to the bag.
Collins stresses strong fundamental play, and for the most part, that's what's carried his team to a still Major League-best 14-5 record. It also made Sunday's performance in front of a national TV audience all the more jarring.
"It's out of the ordinary," Campbell said. "I guess that's a good thing."
Murphy's error Sunday overshadowed a two-hit, two-RBI night mainly because it concluded a week of defensive lapses by the veteran. On top of two errors in his last three games, this past week Murphy also didn't cover first base during a bunt play and cost the Mets runs by throwing to the incorrect base.
"We didn't handle the ball very well, starting with myself," said Murphy. "I wish I could have that double-play ball back."
Flores had been solid after a shaky first week but now has four errors in 17 games.
"We're going to continue running them out there," Collins said.
Resignation ruled the postgame clubhouse. Just as they stressed during the club's 11-game winning streak, many Mets rejoiced in the fact that there is another game to be played tomorrow. And that should allow them to forget this one.
"It definitely wasn't pretty," said Michael Cuddyer, who also made an error when he accidentally spiked a relay throw in the second inning. "It still only counts as one loss."