New-look top of Nats lineup produces in first spring game

VIERA, Fla. - Daniel Murphy knew he'd be the center of attention today in the Nationals' spring home opener. Not because this was his first game appearance with his new team, but because it just happened to come against his old team.

Murphy seemed a bit uncomfortable with all the attention he received, especially from the more than dozen Mets reporters who crowded around him outside the Nats clubhouse after he departed the game. Ultimately, Murphy felt most at ease on the field, especially during his team's four-run bottom of the first en route to a 9-4 victory.

"It was definitely fun," he said. "It was really nice to jump out in that first inning and put four runs on them. We had some good at-bats in that first inning. Settled in pretty quickly. It was definitely different. It was, what, only 4-5 months ago those guys over there were my teammates. But I'm excited to be here in Washington, and I thought it was a good start to the spring."

It was a good start for the Nationals, and Murphy played a role in making that quick-strike rally happen. After Ben Revere lined an 0-2 pitch to right for a leadoff single and promptly swiped second base, Murphy drew a walk, leaving ducks on the pond for Bryce Harper. The reigning NL MVP responded with a laser off the right field wall, struck so hard that Harper didn't even have enough time to try to stretch the hit into a double, settling instead for a 380-foot RBI single.

Anthony Rendon made sure to clean up the rest, poking a two-run single to right field and blowing the game open early.

It was only one game in early March, but it did offer a taste of what the top of the Nationals' new-look lineup could produce via a combination of contact, speed, patience and power.

"This is what we want to try to do," manager Dusty Baker said, adding, "And when you've got a table-setter like Ben Revere to start the game off like, boom, and then steal a base ... bam, we've got a run. That's big. Our guys are swinging the bats really well, considering it's early in the season."

Baker has plenty of options when it comes to assembling his lineup (we'll delve more deeply into that sometime soon) but there's something to be said for a top four of Revere, Murphy, Harper and Rendon, as we saw today.

"I think quality at-bats up and down the lineup is what we're going for," Murphy said. "I thought in that first inning we put together really good at-bats. Just kind of keep the line moving. Ben gets down 0-2 and laces a missile the other way, then takes second base. So I'm just trying to dribble one to the second baseman and move him over, and fortunately I had a walk. And then Bryce almost breaks the wall down. And then I thought the best at-bat of the inning was Rendon looking to move the runner over and ends up getting 2 RBIs right there, just playing the game. It's a good, clean inning."