clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Washington Nationals’ lineup for 2nd of 3 with the San Francisco Giants in AT&T Park...

Dusty Baker talked before the series opener in AT&T Park about getting Stephen Drew and Daniel Murphy back after a hamstring injury for Drew and illness for Murphy.

By Patrick Reddington
Washington Nationals v San Francisco Giants Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images

Daniel Murphy had a career .307/.347/.480 line, 12 doubles, and four home runs in 42 games and 167 plate appearances against the San Diego Padres in his career heading into last weekend’s three-game set in D.C., but he sat out of the series with an illness.

Dusty Baker told reporters on Monday, before the start of Washington’s three-game set in San Francisco, that the fact that Murphy sat out of the series with the Padres was a sign he was dealing with a serious cold.

“When you’re sick there’s nothing you can do more than rest, and fluids — they gave him all kinds of IVs and liquids and I haven’t seen him yet,” Baker said, “but I heard that for Murphy not to play with the success that he’s had against San Diego, you know he must have been really sick.

“I know these guys are tough guys, but when your body calls you to bed, you’ve got to go to bed. Regardless of the season, illness has no season, and so we didn’t want him to get other guys sick.”

Murphy returned to the lineup on Monday and snapped an 0 for 10 stretch with an RBI double off Giants’ lefty Matt Moore in the sixth inning that put the Nationals up 2-0 in what ended up a 3-0 win.

He drove in the third run as well with an RBI single in the top of the eighth inning and his 2 for 4 day at the plate left the 32-year-old infielder with a .319/.374/.555 line, 14 doubles, nine home runs, and 138 wRC+ in 46 games and 198 PAs, over which he’s been worth 1.6 fWAR.

Murphy is back in the lineup tonight for the second game of three with the Giants in AT&T.

HERE’S THE NATS’ LINEUP FOR TONIGHT’S GAME IN SAN FRANCISCO:

More From Federal Baseball