WASHINGTON -- It’s not abnormal to hear M-V-P chants at Nationals Park. What is abnormal is hearing them with Daniel Murphy (not Bryce Harper) at the plate. But that’s what’s starting to happen in D.C.
In the fifth inning of Washington’s 8-5 win over Colorado on Friday, Murphy blasted his 25th homer of the season. When he came up again in the seventh, the crowd of 33,000-plus busted out the refrain that was constantly heard last season when Harper eventually became the youngest unanimous MVP in baseball history.
Whether or not Murphy will actually win the MVP is debatable. Given his issues defensively, the odds are stacked against him.
Even though he has spent part of his time this year at first base filling in for Ryan Zimmerman, Murphy -- who famously botched a routine grounder that swung the momentum in the 2015 World Series -- has still managed to account for minus-8 runs saved at second base, worst in the National League. Because of that, he ranks just 13th in the NL with a 3.9 WAR, well behind leader Kris Bryant (6.3). But the fact that District denizens are still giving Murphy MVP love speaks to just how valuable he has been with the bat.
Including Friday’s game, Murphy is now leading (or tied for the lead) in the NL in average (.346), slugging (.615), OPS (1.005), doubles (37) and extra-base hits (67). He’s also second in RBIs (98) and K rate (10.1%), and ranks among the league leaders in homers and runs (tied for 9th in both). In other words, he has been pretty darned good at the whole hitting thing. Good enough that, despite his fielding foibles, he’s generating legitimate 2016 MVP buzz.
“He's having one of those years,” said Harper, who had one of those years last season. “It's something that's super special. Everything he's doing right now is unbelievable. He's keeping it going every single night he's out there. It's fun for the fans, fun for baseball and definitely fun for us.”
Besides being fun, it’s also fortunate for the Nats, because for the better part of the last four months, Harper has been not so good. From April 26 through Aug. 6, Harper hit just .214 (150th out of 152 qualified MLB players) with a .350 slugging percentage (145th). Despite the reigning MVP’s struggles, the Nationals have been on cruise control for a while now, as their NL East lead hasn’t been less than four games since the All-Star break. The scary part is, Harper finally seems to be awaking from his slumber.
Since returning from missing five games with a pain in the neck (no, really, that’s what he had), the furry face of the franchise has been on fire. In 13 games, he’s hitting .400 with a 1.152 OPS. On Friday, he rocked the Rockies for a double and a triple, his first three-bagger since May of last year. For a Nats squad that has been prone to the occasional offensive drought, the sound of Harper’s loud lumber lately, paired with the noise that Murphy has been making all season long, is music to the manager’s ears.
"It means a lot," said skipper Dusty Baker, "because they're back to back in the order and you can't pitch around one to get to the next."
Not that the Nats’ bats don’t have room for improvement.
"We have a long way to go,” said Jayson Werth, who belted his 18th bomb Friday. “It's not gonna get any easier from here. I think we're starting to gel a little bit, so we need to keep gelling and just working it out. Once we get into about halfway through September, I hope we're hitting on cylinders and we can carry that through as long as we can.”