Murphy's availability becoming daily dilemma for Martinez

PHILADELPHIA - Some 12 hours after explaining Daniel Murphy was available only in an emergency, Davey Martinez wrote out a lineup card that included Murphy as his starting second baseman for the first time this season.

What changed from Saturday night to Sunday morning? The two principals offered up their explanations today as the Nationals prepared to face the Phillies for the seventh time in the last 10 days, seeking only their third head-to-head win.

The process began Thursday, when Murphy went 0-for-4 and played nine innings at first base. After the game, the veteran (still trying to find his way back into peak form after October microfracture surgery on his right knee) told his manager he didn't feel great and he wanted to work on his swing. So Martinez gave Murphy Friday night's game off.

Murphy did appear in Saturday's game, but only as a pinch-hitter with two outs in the ninth inning with the Nationals trailing by a run. He proceeded to line a double into the right field corner, then was replaced by Pedro Severino as a pinch-runner.

Afterward, Martinez was asked if he considered having Murphy pinch-hit for Mark Reynolds in the eighth inning, when the Nats had two on and two out and a golden opportunity to tie the game or take the lead. The first-year manager said he considered it but elected not to because he didn't want to have to use Murphy as anything other than a pinch-hitter.

"For me, Murphy was just an emergency guy," Martinez said after the game. "I didn't want to put him in the field."

Murphy, though, revealed he told Martinez before Saturday's game he was available to play in the field if needed.

"Yeah, we talked about it before the game," Murphy said. "I said: 'Use me as you see necessary. If that's a pinch-hit, a double-switch, whatever it may be, I'm available.'"

Martinez today explained he wasn't comfortable using Murphy in the field, no matter what the player said.

"He did say to me yesterday: 'In a pinch, if you need me, I'm available,'" Martinez said. "And to me, just getting him to pinch-hit and not put him in the field was the best thing for yesterday."

Martinez also explained the decision not to use Murphy in the eighth was based in part on the short, four-man bench the Nationals are currently using.

"You think you have a four-man bench, but you only really have a three-man bench because you have the (backup) catcher," the manager said. "You can't really use him until the end of the game. In that situation, I didn't want to be caught in the last inning with not having enough players, using (Brian Goodwin) and using Murphy with (Phillies closer Seranthony) Dominguez coming in. So the strategy coming in was just having both guys available in the ninth inning."

After Saturday's game, Martinez and Murphy spoke again and discussed his availability for today's series finale.

"He came to me last night after the game and said that he thought he felt a lot better and felt like he could play today," Martinez said. "So I asked him: 'What do you think about playing second base?' And he said: 'Let's go for it.'"

"I felt better last night with my legs," Murphy said. "I got some really good work in with (hitting coaches) Kevin (Long) and Joe Dillon. So I felt better last night. Hopefully I can carry that over to today."

This is Murphy's first time starting at second base this season, though he appeared there for four total innings in two games a few weeks ago. He also started at second base during his rehab assignment before making his season debut.

In the larger picture, Murphy feels like his swing is getting better, offering a glimmer of hope as he looks at what lies ahead the rest of the season.

"I just feel like I'm able to get my swing off better," he said. "I felt last night's swing was probably one of the best swings I've taken since I had surgery. So that was nice. Hopefully we can continue on that upward trajectory, and I'll start to be more productive."

With Matt Adams and Ryan Zimmerman expected back from the disabled list in the next week-plus, Murphy is probably going to have to play second base if he's going to be in the Nationals' regular lineup. He admits he doesn't know how this will go.

"To be honest with you, I didn't have any expectations of what this would look like," he said. "I've had knee injuries before, but I've never had surgery before. So I can speak to as many guys who have had it and their experiences, but they were never my own experiences. So even talking to Justin Turner and the surgeon and our training staff who have dealt with this, until I went through it I was never going to know. And so to be honest, I never really had any expectations, because I knew I didn't know what to expect."