Omar Minaya’s decision to stand pat at the trading deadline last week suddenly doesn’t look so bad.
The Mets’ embattled GM saw his farm system come up big once again last night, with Daniel Murphy and Brian Stokes taking their turns in an 8-6 victory over the Marlins at Shea Stadium that kept the Amazin’s in the thick of the NL East race.
Carlos Beltran also factored heavily with a 3-for-3 night that included three RBIs and his first homer in nearly a month, but Murphy and Stokes were front and center in the second-place Mets’ third consecutive victory.
Murphy made the biggest contribution of the two, with the rookie left fielder drawing a curtain call after his first career homer broke open a one-run game in the sixth inning.
A converted infielder called up last week after only one day at Triple-A New Orleans, Murphy is hitting an eye-popping .500 (10-for-20) with five RBIs in his first seven big-league games.
“We probably couldn’t have acquired better than what he’s done,” Mets manager Jerry Manuel said of the 23-year-old Murphy.
Stokes’ effort couldn’t be overlooked, either. Brought up yesterday to make a spot start for the soon-to-return John Maine, the former Tampa Bay reliever held up better than the Mets could have hoped against the Marlins’ muscular young lineup.
Stokes lasted 52/3 innings in his first big-league appearance since last September and first major-league start since 2006, allowing two homers and four runs overall, but possibly cementing a role in the Mets’ bullpen by striking out six and walking just one.
“I thought [Stokes] threw the ball well,” Manuel said. “He made a couple of mistakes, but I thought he had real good stuff. It’s good to have a guy come up and show you that kind of power arm.”
The Mets’ shaky bullpen provided its usual share of harrowing moments, with Joe Smith and Pedro Feliciano combining to nearly waste a four-run lead in the eighth. But fill-in closer Aaron Heilman pitched a scoreless ninth to keep the Mets one game back of the first-place Phillies.
Stokes faltered late in his 87-pitch appearance, giving up a two-run homer to former Met Mike Jacobs in the sixth to blow a 4-2 lead. But Stokes had nothing to apologize for, and Murphy promptly bailed him out in the bottom of the inning.
After an RBI groundout by Robinson Cancel let the Mets regain a 5-4 lead, Murphy pinch-hit in the No. 9 spot and went deep to left off reliever Renyel Pinto on a 1-1 fastball. The crowed erupted at the newcomer’s two-run shot, standing and clapping until Murphy’s teammates – who had showered him with dugout high-fives and backslaps – prodded him into curtain call.
“It was unbelievable,” said Murphy, whose mother Sharon and sister Tricia were in the crowd. “I’ve never experienced anything like that. It’s still kind of a dream for me.”
Murphy nearly made the fans forget that high point in the eighth, when he misplayed a Jacobs shot to the wall into a double that drove in the first of two Florida runs in the inning and got him lifted for defensive purposes in the ninth. But all appeared to be forgiven.
“Young players bring in energy automatically,” Manuel said. “It’s like Christmas for them, the big leagues. . . . What they’re doing is a credit to our minor league system . . . “