Murphy gets night off, Reynolds subbing for Rendon (Nats lead 6-3)

MIAMI - When Daniel Murphy, originally listed in the Nationals lineup for tonight's series opener against the Marlins, was scratched about 3 1/2 hours before first pitch, it was only natural for conspiracy theorists out there to wonder if the veteran second baseman had just become the first victim of an unexpected late-July fire sale.

Rest assured, the Nationals didn't trade Murphy, nor have they made any decisions to become surprise sellers in advance of Tuesday's trade deadline. Not yet, at least.

Murphy's removal from the original lineup was purely for physical reasons. After starting nine consecutive games, his legs were in need of a break.

"He came in, and he's a bit sore," manager Davey Martinez said. "He's been playing quite a bit and doing well so I asked him. I said: 'Would you rather just come off the bench today and help us in that way?' And we both agreed that that would be the best thing. But he's available to play today. It was like twisting his arm, but he's ready to play."

Murphy, who missed the season's first two-plus months while recovering from offseason knee surgery, has progressed to the point where he's been able to play second base on a daily basis again. And he's been far more productive at the plate, hitting .371 over his last 11 games.

But Murphy still needs monitoring, and Martinez is trying to continue to give him days off when necessary. So Wilmer Difo started tonight's game at second base in his place.

Difo was one of two replacements in the Nationals infield for their series opener against the Marlins. With Anthony Rendon placed on the paternity leave list earlier in the day, Mark Reynolds got the start at third base.

Rendon is permitted to miss up to three days per Major League Baseball rules, but it's unclear so far whether he'll return Sunday or sometime earlier in the weekend.

In the meantime, Matt Reynolds was called up from Triple-A Syracuse to fill the vacant roster spot. The utility infielder hit .325 with eight walks in his last 12 games to earn the promotion. He flew to Miami this afternoon and arrived shortly before the start of the game.

Reynolds can play third base, but it's actually veteran Mark Reynolds getting the start at the hot corner in Rendon's place tonight. If that's not confusing enough.

Update: If they were hoping to make an early statement tonight about their intention to kickstart their season this weekend, the Nationals didn't do a good job of it. One inning down, they already trailed 3-0 after blowing a golden opportunity in the top of the first and then struggling in the bottom of the inning.

Despite having two on with nobody out in the top of the frame, the Nats came away with nothing. Bryce Harper struck out on a fastball out of the zone. Ryan Zimmerman popped up to second. And then Adam Eaton got picked off second base to end the inning.

Tommy Milone, filling in on the mound for Stephen Strasburg, did the exact opposite in the bottom of the first. The left-hander gave up four hits in the inning, three of those Marlins coming around to score. He gave up another pair of hits in the second but managed to escape with no further damage. Regardless, the Nats have dug themselves into another early hole on a night when they simply couldn't afford to do that.

Update II: They're trying to get themselves back into this one. Trea Turner and Juan Soto each launched solo homers in the top of the fourth, Turner's clanging off the Home Run Thingamabob in left-center, Soto's a rocket into the right field bleachers for his 12th homer in 57 big league games. (For comparison's sake, Harper only had eight in his first 57 games.)

Milone, meanwhile, has settled down and posted three straight zeros. His pitch count is at 72 after the fourth, with the Nats now trailing 3-2.

Update III: The Nats are showing some fight tonight, give them that. They tied this game in the top of the sixth when Zimmerman ripped a two-out double off the wall in left-center to score Eaton from first. And after Milone got through the fifth without allowing another run, they turned to their bullpen. Justin Miller just completed a scoreless bottom of the sixth, so this game is entering the late stages knotted at 3-3.

Update IV: And the Nats have taken the lead. A three-run lead. They did so thanks to a two-run double by Turner and then an RBI double by Harper in the top of the seventh, all off lefty Adam Conley. Just like that, they lead this game 6-3 and now will turn to the back of their bullpen to try to close out this must-win game.