Mets beat Yankees on go-ahead single from Daniel Murphy in Subway Series opener

METS 2, YANKEES 1

Two innings earlier, Daniel Murphy thought his long drive had tilted a taut game the Mets’ way, only to see Brett Gardner leap against the wall to steal his home run.

So when Murphy lined an RBI single to center off David Robertson with two outs in the eighth inning, he couldn’t help himself. On the way to first, he tomahawked his bat into the turf in celebration, an outpouring of excitement – and relief – that perhaps proves that the Subway Series still has some sizzle left after all.

PHOTOS: DAN'S THE MAN! MURPHY'S HIT IN 8TH GIVES METS SUBWAY WIN

Murphy’s hit gave the struggling Mets a 2-1 victory over the Yankees Monday night in an entertaining game that featured several terrific performances and plays, but fewer fans than usual. The announced attendance was only 32,911 and there were swaths of empty seats at Citi Field.

“Dan’s hit, it meant something,” Terry Collins said. “I know it’s the Yankees and they’re used to playing in these games and they’re used to all this stuff. Well, for us it was a big win. The way we’ve been going, it’s huge for us.

“So a little emotion’s involved,” the manager added. “If they take offense to it, I don’t know what we’re going to do about it except play again (Tuesday).”

Corey Sipkin/New York Daily News

David Wright ties the game in the seventh inning with a solo home run.

So the Mets are feeling good about themselves, at least for the moment. They have won two straight and their ace, Matt Harvey, gets his first taste of Subway Series action Tuesday. The victory also means the Mets are 37-54 all-time against the Yankees in a series that started in 1997.

Bobby Parnell notched his eighth save, though he put the potential tying run on base with one out by walking Ichiro Suzuki on four pitches. But he struck out Lyle Overbay and got pinch-hitter Travis Hafner to pop up.

With all the drama that surrounded Jordany Valdespin’s bat flip and pimping of a garbage-time homer in a blowout loss to Pittsburgh earlier this month, any sort of bat toss can be a sensitive subject at Citi Field. This didn’t have the same feel, though, mainly because the game situations were so different, and even the Yankees didn’t seem upset.

“I didn’t even see anything, but he was probably excited,” Robertson said. “He got a game-winning hit. I’m not going to take anything away from the guy.”

Added Joe Girardi: “I don’t have an issue. It’s an emotional game. Some guys are going to show more emotion outwardly than other guys. I only have a problem if a guy’s doing it to show up the other guy and I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary.”