Nationals’ lineup vs Giants: Daniel Murphy sits out 3rd of 4 in AT&T Park

Daniel Murphy was 1 for 3 with an RBI triple last night before he left the game in the bottom of the sixth with Trea Turner coming on as a defensive replacement.

It was the fifth triple of the year for Washington’s 31-year-old infielder, whose .351 AVG led the National League after last night’s win.

Nationals’ skipper Dusty Baker told reporters after the game that Murphy’s leg tightened up in the relatively cool air in San Francisco’s AT&T Park.

"Murph, he just said his legs were tightening up,” Baker explained after the Nats’ 4-1 win over the Giants.

“It's cold. Invariably, whenever you come to San Francisco somebody is going to get a tight hammy or quad or something, and so we just took him out for precaution because we certainly can't take any chance on losing Murph."

A reporter wondered if Murphy felt the tightness while legging out the triple, but the Nats’ skipper said it was actually something he tweaked in the series opener.

"I think it was actually on a play last night and then on the triple, he had a triple all the way. That's 'Triples Alley', it ain't called 'Triples Alley' for nothing. And so, like I said, I'm not really sure when he did it, but I talked to my trainers and they said he thought he did it on a previous play last night or earlier in the day."

Murphy will apparently get some more rest today. He’s sitting out of the third game of three with the Giants in AT&T.

Trea Turner is starting at second. Reynaldo Lopez is starting, though no official announcement on a roster move to bring him up has been made as of 1:34 PM EDT.

Pedro Severino, who was called up last night, is behind the plate with Lopez, who he’s worked with in the minors.

Here’s the Nationals’ lineup for their 4:05 PM EDT matchup in San Francisco: