After the 2015 pennant, Sandy Alderson wanted no part of NLCS MVP Daniel Murphy. He offered the perfunctory qualifying offer, and when Murphy rejected it like all those before him, Sandy refused to negotiate with Murphy. Eventually, this led to Murphy signing with the Nationals. 

Since that time, the Nationals have a .598 winning percentage, which is a 97 win pace. Conversely, the Mets have s .510 winning streak, which is an 83 win pace. Considering where the Mets are right now, they’d kill for an 83 win pace. 

We can point to a number of reasons why this has happened. Injuries. Regressions.  Bad managing. All could apply. Perhaps the biggest reason is Murphy changed teams. 

Entering today’s game, Murphy is hitting .388/.438/.698 with 10 doubles, a triple, eight homers, and 29 RBI. The Nationals are 21-10 against the Mets since Murpjy joined their ranks. 

Today, there were a number of reasons why the Mets lost:

1. Seth Lugo falling apart in the fifth;
2. Injuries forcing Yoenis Cespedes and Curtis Granderson out of the lineup; or
3. Terrible defense highlighted by Jay Bruce overrunning a ground ball or Rene Rivera letting a pitch go through the wickets. 

Pick a reason. Any will suffice. When doing that, don’t ignore the Murphy effect. 

Today, it was more of the same. He was 4-5 with a double and five TBJ raising his batting average to a league leading .341. 

The Nationals shut down the Mets. Their repaid is a 11-4 even with the Nationals starting Joe Ross and his 5.12 ERA. 

Watching this game, it’s apparent the Nationals are just that much better than the Mets. A large part of that was Murphy . . . AGAIN. He will continue to be so for as long as he’s a National. 
Game Notes: With the injuries,  T.J. Rivera started the game in left field. He would subsequently be removed from the game due to cramps.