Nationals: Daniel Murphy Gets 2 Hits In NL All-Star Loss

Washington Nationals second baseman Daniel Murphy went 2-for-3 off the bench tonight, but the National League lost 4-2 to the American League

The 87th annual All-Star Game took place tonight at PETCO Park in San Diego. All four Washington Nationals who elected to play in the game got into tonight’s action as the American League defeated the National League 4-2 and secured home field advantage in this year’s World Series.

Bryce Harper was the only Washington Nationals player who started in the game. He was playing right field and hit second behind Ben Zobrist. He grounded out to second in the first against starter Chris Sale and doubled to left against Cole Hamels in the third. He ended up being stranded on second when Kris Bryant (homered in the first against Sale) struck out swinging.

The American League took the lead against NL starter Johnny Cueto in the bottom of the second on a solo home run from Eric Hosmer and a two-run home run from Hosmer’s teammate with the Royals, Salvador Perez. One inning later, Hosmer put the AL up 4-1 with a base hit to left that scored Edwin Encarnacion.

In the top of the fifth, the two Washington Nationals reserve position players got their first at-bats. Murphy was ruled out on a ground ball to second that was bobbled by Jose Altuve to begin the inning. However, on the first replay in All-Star Game history, the call was overturned.

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Later in the inning, Wilson Ramos (came in for Buster Posey in the 4th) struck out swinging against Jose Quintana with runners on second and third. Ramos ended up being taken out of the game after the seventh for Jonathan Lucroy. But, his family did something cool during his first ever All-Star at-bat:

Max Scherzer got his chance to pitch in the bottom of the sixth and threw a 1-2-3 inning against Hosmer, Carlos Beltran, and Matt Wieters. He struck out Wieters on a 98 mile per hour fastball to end the inning. The Nationals right-hander threw 18 pitches (12 strikes).

Murphy’s second at-bat came in the top of the seventh when he hit a leadoff single to right against Yankees reliever Dellin Betances. He advanced to second on a wild pitch, but ended up not scoring. Murphy would shine with his defense in the bottom of the inning when he robbed Francisco Lindor of a RBI base hit and made a good throw to first for the final out.

The Nationals second baseman’s final at-bat came in the top of the ninth when he hit a leadoff single to center against Zach Britton. But, Paul Goldschmidt grounded into a fielder’s choice and Nolan Arenado grounded into a 5-4-3 double play to end the game.

Next: District Daily: Dominant Murphy Leads Nats Into 2nd Half

Corey Kluber would pick up the win and Britton picked up the save for the American League while Cueto took the loss for the National League. This year’s MVP was Hosmer, who went 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBI’s.