Washington Nationals: Daniel Murphy’s Amazing Night
A four-for-five night at the plate from Daniel Murphy propels the Washington Nationals to an 8-3 win over St. Louis. How is he doing it?
If you thought Washington Nationals second baseman Daniel Murphy would get a slow start to the season, you would be wrong.
Another powerhouse performance Tuesday night for the slugger saw him homer, double twice and single in the Nats 8-3 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals. With five more RBI added on his stat sheet Tuesday, Murphy has nine in eight games.
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Plunked in between Bryce Harper and Ryan Zimmerman in the heart of a powerful Nats lineup, Murphy is making an early case why he might be the most valuable player in the National League. He makes the most of the pitches offered.
Seven of his 17 hits are for extra bases, picking up where he left off last year. With five doubles and two home runs so far, Murphy’s slash line is .472/.486/.778. His OPS sits at 1.264. All he does is hit.
The concern with Murphy heading into the regular season was his lack of playing time. He left the Nats to play for the victorious Team USA in the World Baseball Classic, but barely played. Without the work against live pitching, the thought was his bat timing would not be ready for the trip north.
Guess we can scratch that.
Coming of the best year of his career after signing with Washington, it was hard to see how Murphy could top 2016. The pummeling of New York Mets pitching is well known. Him playing with bad hamstrings was not. It landed him on the bench at the end of the year.
He led the NL in doubles at 47 and nearly won the batting crown hitting .347. Now, Murphy is not hitting .472 all year, but this quick start shows last year was not a fluke. At full health and facing below-average pitching, he has confidence in his swing.
Contact is fluid and consistent. So far, he has drawn one walk. Par for the course for Murphy as he walked 35 times in 2016.
Ricky Keeler has some thoughts about Murphy and the offense and a chat with RedBirds Rants Site Co-Expert Brendan Dooby:
Washington still faces the Mets and their vaunted pitching staff soon. Murphy, along with Harper and Zimmerman cannot keep this blistering pace. But, Anthony Rendon and a healthy Trea Turner will snap out of their slumps. On balance, the regular lineup is stacked with power.
With the bullpen uncertainties still at the forefront, the offense scoring runs by the bushel helps. They can take pressure off the pitchers and win games. Murphy’s leading the charge.