Baker on switching Murphy and Zimmerman in the lineup

Manager Dusty Baker finally moved hot-hitting Daniel Murphy ahead of Ryan Zimmerman in the batting order. He said before the game he doesn't believe it is that big a deal, it was more about the matchup with Tigers right-hander and former National Jordan Zimmermann.

"It would probably be unusual to you guys but not unusual to me because I've been thinking about some things for quite sometime," Baker said. "I talked to Zim and talked to Murphy first because I thought about it today in switching them."

And he made the decision just because it was Zimmermann. There was no mention of how Zimmerman scuffled in the cleanup spot for most of the times Bryce Harper was walked in front of him in the last week of games.

There's no guarantee this is a permanent change, either. Plus, Zimmerman's two homers Tuesday didn't play into the decision, either.

"Why would I switch today with Zim getting hot?" Baker asked rhetorically. "But I switched today because Murph's the only guy that has ever faced Zimmermann other than Jayson Werth and he's had quite a bit of success against Zimmermann."

Murphy has hit .328 (20-for-61) with four homers and nine RBIs in his career against Zimmermann. Werth has hit .400 but with a smaller sample size, going 2-for-5 with a homer and two RBIs. Ben Revere is hitting .250 (3-for-12) against the former Nationals starter.

Baker has pretty much stuck with the same lineup for most of the season. Even when Revere was out with a strained oblique, he stuck with Michael A. Taylor in the leadoff role when the young hitter was struggling a bit. But that also doesn't mean Baker hasn't worked on rearranging his lineup before.

"I experimented with different lineups and stuff all spring," Baker said. "And how long I will stick with this I don't know. It depends how many lefties they have down in the bullpen. It's real important to me how you play the chess game and the lineup."

When a lineup change occurs involving a pair of veterans, there can be hurt feelings. Baker said that did not happen today when he informed the two players of the flip-flop.

"Zim said I'll do anything you ask me to do," Baker said. "Murph said the same thing. That's the kind of guys they were."

Baker said he remembers as a player how important it is when your manager comes and talks to the player first about a lineup change instead of just posting the changes.

Is it a disadvantage or advantage that most of the Nationals' offensive stars played several seasons with Zimmermann on their team?

"I've always urged players to study each other, in case of trades," Baker said. "I'm sure he has a pretty good scouting report on who will chase, who's a high-ball hitter, who's a low-ball hitter because he's a smart guy, he's been paying attention."

There are 162 games in a baseball regular season. Plus, the Tigers and Nationals play only three times this season. The chances of these kinds of matchups are certainly rare.

"This is a pretty big day for both sides," Baker said. "You've got Zimmermann versus (Max) Scherzer. You've got two guys that have won 70 games for their respective organizations apiece, and two quality pitchers."

"(Zimmermann) will come at you," Baker said. "If you're waiting on this guy to run from you, you're waiting on the wrong guy. He's probably going to pitch deep into the game, which is another reason why I wasn't opposed to having two lefties back-to-back. If he pitches a normal game, they'll probably get three at-bats apiece."

Baker also believes Zimmermann has extra motivation tonight. He remembers when he got traded from the Braves to the Dodgers and how that changed his mindset.

"I wanted to beat on them," Baker said. "I'm sure he has some added motivation here. The fact that he didn't sign and they didn't keep him. He's pitching against his former teammates that when the game starts, you have no friends on the other side."