Braves ‘lucky’ to have Murphy as power surge continues
ATLANTA — Ronald Acuña Jr. completed April as an early favourite to win the National League MVP Award. But if Sean Murphy extends his spectacular and sudden energy surge, Acuña gained’t be the one Brave drawing legit consideration for this honor.
“He’s a terrific player, a terrific guy and a great teammate,” Braves beginning pitcher Spencer Strider stated. “I couldn’t ask for more from him in any capacity. I’m just really grateful he’s on our team.”
There was a lot reward for Murphy after he hit a pair of homers and picked up a career-high six RBIs whereas serving to the Braves declare a 9-8 win over the Mets within the first recreation of Monday’s doubleheader at Citi Field. The veteran catcher added two extra hits as Atlanta suffered a 5-3 loss within the second recreation.
“I’m doing the same things I’ve always done,” Murphy stated. “I’m trying to stay consistent with the same things every day. Hopefully, incremental improvements will show.”
This has been fairly a visit for the Braves, who claimed a rain-shortened, five-inning win on Friday after which remained idle as rain postponed each Saturday and Sunday’s video games. It didn’t seem like the time without work was going to be an issue, when Atlanta tallied six runs by the primary two innings of this twin invoice. But each video games had been nail-biters.
By claiming a pair of wins on this three-game set, the first-place Braves improved to 19-10, placing them three video games forward of the Mets (16-13). This is the primary time Atlanta has gained at the least 19 of its first 29 video games since 2003.
Who has been the Braves’ most respected participant?
But there would possibly at the least be some who argue Murphy has been as worthwhile, as he has dealt with almost all the catching duties since Travis d’Arnaud suffered the fourth concussion of his profession on April 8. Along with proving to be a defensively sound catcher, Murphy has exceeded any expectations offensively since being acquired from the A’s in December.
“He’s a threat every time he goes up there,” supervisor Brian Snitker stated.
Murphy entered Monday with a 1.2 fWAR, which ranked because the ninth-best mark amongst all MLB gamers. More stunning was the actual fact he entered the day ranked seventh with 159 weighted runs created plus (WRC+), a statistic that accounts for ballpark components.
With the A’s pitcher-friendly stadium not his dwelling ballpark, there was some expectation Murphy’s energy numbers would enhance this 12 months. But few might have predicted he would have eight homers by the tip of the day on May 1. He hit 17 homers in 2021 after which set a profession excessive with 18 final 12 months.
Still, whereas the facility potential was there, few might have predicted Murphy could be tied with Matt Olson for the workforce lead in homers greater than a month into the season. Some definitely weren’t anticipating this as Murphy opened the season 3-for-20 with only one extra-base hit. He did produce, drawing eight walks inside that quick span.
But those that had been upset about dropping William Contreras by way of that very same three-team commerce in December have been silenced as Murphy has since gone 21-for-65 with six doubles and eight homers. This energy surge started with the walk-off homer he hit to finish a 10-inning win over the Reds on April 10.
Murphy prolonged this energy surge with the three-run homers he hit within the first and seventh innings of Game 1 on Monday. The veteran catcher singled twice within the nightcap and drew a seventh-inning stroll that put him in place to attain from first on Eddie Rosario’s go-ahead triple.
With his productive doubleheader, Murphy now leads all MLB catchers in homers and OPS (1.060). It’s protected to say Braves followers have accepted the truth that their workforce upgraded after they acquired him at the price of dropping Contreras, who has one homer and a .779 OPS by his first 22 video games with the Brewers.
“[Murphy] is a great dude,” Braves beginning pitcher Charlie Morton stated. “Man, he hits the ball hard. He’s fun to throw to and be around. We’re lucky to have him.”
