Baker on treating Leake like one of his own: If my son was over there I'd try to beat him too"

Manager Dusty Baker said he wanted to give second baseman Daniel Murphy a day off and it worked out well for tonight's game. Cardinals slugger Matt Carpenter is also out because he is on paternity leave.

"Murph has been more than I think anybody dreamed that he would be. He's been on base an awful lot," Baker said. "I told you that we had to watch to keep his legs strong because he's always in a squat. This is a day to get his legs worked on and get everything back strong till next day off."

What were his impressions of Murphy before he arrived in D.C.?

"See, I didn't know much about Daniel Murphy," Baker said. "I heard a lot about him from Gary Sheffield that I did TBS with. Sheff loves him. I had heard a lot about him, Shooty Babitt, one of their scouts in their organization was a friend of mine in the Bay Area. He said they hate losing Murphy. I got a genuine man which I think is a pretty good compliment not only as a player but as a person. I'm glad we got Daniel Murphy.

"We were trying to get Brandon (Phillips) earlier but I don't think we could've done much better with a player than Daniel Murphy."

One reporter asked if Baker was concerned with how hitters were connecting on Joe Ross's pitches later in his starts. In the first plate appearance, batters are hitting .149, but the second time through the order they hit .296 and the third time they connect at .320. The slugging percentage rises with each successive at-bat: .209, .444 and .480.

"He's young. Most guys his age don't get even to go first time through the order, they are in the minor leagues," Baker said. "I'm sold on Joe Ross, he'll figure it out. You know that? He will figure it out.

"You're going to have to beat them. I'm hoping that Joe just goes out and pitches his game. Don't try to do any more than you are capable of doing. The hard part about being young is that you don't know what your capabilities are yet. I'm sure he's still learning that."

When these teams faced off in St. Louis, Baker referred to how close he was with former Reds and current Cardinals starter Mike Leake from his time in Cincinnati, calling him one of his sons. Leake spent the first six seasons of his career with the Reds. The Nationals face Leake tonight.

Does Baker have any problem trying to beat one of his sons?

"Well, if my son was over there I'd try to beat him too," Baker said. "That's my son, Darren. My daughter's in town, she asked me how come I would never let her win? You ain't supposed to win when I'm playing you. It don't mean I don't love you, just got to beat you.

"Same goes for my brother or my Momma, or my Dad or whoever I'm playing. He will probably give me a nod and I'll give it back to him but then it's game on because I know him. I know this guy came prepared. He's trying to beat me, or us."

Baker spoke about the strategy when facing Leake and what his hitters must look to do to try to solve him.

"You better hope he's not throwing cheese at the knees which I used to tell him all the time," Baker said. "You hope he's getting some balls up over the plate and makes a mistake or two."