:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/49620719/GettyImages-532004948.0.jpg)
Daniel Murphy received a nice ovation from the crowd in Flushing, Queens, NY the first time he stepped to the plate in Citi Field as part of the Washington Nationals' lineup. The second time up? Not so much.
"I wouldn't expect them to cheer for the next twenty times we see each other," Murphy joked when he spoke to reporters after the Nationals' 2-0 loss to the New York Mets he spent his first seven major league seasons with.
"They're wearing orange and blue and I've got the red on now."
The initial reception in the park he called home before this season meant a lot to the 31-year-old infielder, who signed a 3-year/$37.5M free agent deal with the Nationals this winter.
"Really nice," Murphy said. The Mets also played a video tribute to Murphy's time in New York.
"It was really nice. Very nice of them. It's one [thing] for the organization to play the video before the game, they didn't have to do that, knowing that I'm going to go out there and compete against them as hard as I can and I thought the ovation from the crowd... it left me humbled to say the least."
In 424 games in the Mets' home, the second baseman has a .280/.320/.415 line. Tuesday night was the first time he was a member of the opposition. It was different.
"It took a little getting used to coming out of the third base dugout," Murphy said.
"I think I've come out of the other side a couple more times. But it was definitely a lot of fun. The ballgame definitely had the intensity of a divisional rivalry. And they played well tonight, I thought Noah [Syndergaard] threw the ball great."
What was it like facing the Mets' starter for the first time?
"He throws hard," Murphy said succinctly.
"I thought Max [Scherzer] threw the ball well enough to win, and unfortunately we couldn't -- starting with myself -- had a chance for myself for that third at bat leading off an inning, got a pretty good pitch to hit that I rolled over, could have changed the game a little bit on Noah, put some pressure on him."
Murphy and his new Nationals teammates didn't produce much offense against the Mets' right-hander, who threw seven scoreless before he handed it off to the bullpen.
Being part of the opposition in Cit Field, Murphy told reporters before the game, was going to take some getting used to.
"I spent almost a decade in the Mets organization," he said, "so I don't know if that's something that I'll completely wash off, but I would say the first time we played the Mets in Spring Training and I saw the orange and blue on the other side and I was wearing the red, it kind of put aside what had happened in New York.
"But that's not going to wash off easily."
With the win last night, Murphy's former team pulled within a .5 game of first, meaning that tonight's matchup will be a battle for the lead in the division. That didn't seem to interest Murphy.
"We've got like a hundred ballgames left, so we'll be alright," he said.