Scherzer: Murphy wants to beat the Mets brains in

Since leaving the New York Mets for a free-agent contract with the Washington Nationals prior to the 2016 season, Daniel Murphy has terrorized his former club on the baseball field, hitting a ridiculous .386/.421/.727 with eight home runs and 25 RBIs.

It turns out Murphy really does enjoy beating his former team, which might explain his bloated numbers.

"He wants to beat their brains in. He won’t say anything, and he won’t say anything to us. It’s not like he’s in here boasting that he wants to beat the Mets, but he wants to beat them apart,” Max Scherzer said while describing Murphy to Fred Kerber of the New York Post after Sunday's 6-3 win for the Nationals.

Murphy continued his dominance over the Mets Sunday by hitting a grand slam - the second of his career - off Zack Wheeler in the first inning.

"You’re always motivated against a division rival. You’re going to play these guys 19 times," Murphy explained. "When you play a division team, one team goes in one direction and one goes in the other one. So the games are of the utmost importance."

After a stellar first season with the Nationals, where he finished one point behind DJ LeMahieu for the NL hitting crown and with a career high 25 home runs and 104 RBIs, the 32-year-old Murphy is hitting .324/.359/.541 with three home runs and 14 RBIs thus far for Washington.