Murphy's walk-off hit lifts Mets, 3-2
Photo credit: AP Photo | New York Mets, including Omir Santos, left, and Alex Cora (3), celebrate with teammate Daniel Murphy, center, after he hit a walkoff RBI-single in their 3-2 victory over the San Francisco Giants.
Photos: David Wright beaned by pitch
Photos: Mets vs. Giants
On a day the Mets lost All-Star third baseman David Wright to the disabled list, the team softened the blow somewhat with a dramatic walk-off win, as Daniel Murphy's one-out single in the bottom of the ninth gave them a 3-2 victory over the San Francisco Giants Sunday at Citi Field.
Jeff Francoeur led off the ninth with an infield single and reached second on Fernando Tatis' sacrifice bunt. Lefthander Jeremy Affeldt replaced Sergio Romo to pitch to the lefthanded-hitting Murphy, who lined a 2-and-2 hanging curve to rightfield for a single. Francoeur beat the tag by catcher Eli Whiteside, giving the Mets their fourth walk-off win of the season.
Murphy said the key was just grinding it out and putting together a good at-bat. "Any time you get a win, it feels good," he said. "It was a good, clean inning for us."
Had it not been for Omar Minaya's announcement that Wright was going on the DL after being hit in the head with a pitch Saturday, yesterday's win might have been one the team could've basked in for a while.
"It's good to be able to come in and smile after a win," Francoeur said. "But then you have to come in and hear the news about David. It's not the greatest scenario, but it's the smartest move."
Closer Francisco Rodriguez - who gave up Bengie Molina's winning homer in the 10th inning Saturday - struck out the side in the ninth and got the win to lift his record to 3-4.
Starter Mike Pelfrey was superb, allowing two runs, five hits and a walk in 71/3 innings. He struck out five.
"He was outstanding," manager Jerry Manuel said. "Hopefully, he's coming [along]. As long as we pitch well, it gives us a chance."
Pelfrey, who has struggled with consistency all season, was encouraged by his ability to locate his pitches and hopes the start can help him turn the corner.
"I thought I had good fastball command and was being aggressive in the strike zone,'' he said. "It goes back to talking about inconsistency. I had a bad outing last time and this time it was good, so just flip a coin, I guess. Hopefully, the next start will be even better."
Luis Castillo backed Pelfrey with his first home run of the season, a two-run shot off lefthander Jonathan Sanchez in the fifth inning that landed in the second deck in leftfield and gave the Mets a 2-1 lead. It was his first homer since May 30, 2008, at Shea Stadium.
The Giants tied it against Pelfrey in the eighth on one-out doubles by Eugenio Velez and Randy Winn, the latter of which knocked out Pelfrey. Velez also had a two-out RBI single in the fifth that put the Giants ahead 1-0.
