Streaking David Murphy Named Starting Left Fielder

David Murphy has reportedly won a full-time job as the Rangers’ left fielder.

On Wednesday, the Dallas Morning News reported that manager Ron Washington went ahead and put any doubt of the move to bed, saying that he planned on starting Murphy regularly, regardless of whether the opposing starter was a right- or left-hander. Previously, Murphy had primarily been used against righties.

“Murphy is going to get the bulk of [playing time] until he proves me wrong,” Washington said. “I’m going on what he is doing right now. When I went to him and told him I planned to play him against lefties, he was hitting and we were struggling. I wanted to get as much offense as possible in the lineup. I’m going to put our best guys out there and not worry about matchup stuff.”

Certainly, in the relatively few at-bats he’s seen against southpaws this season, Murphy has proved that the lefty vs. lefty match-ups don’t bother him much: He currently sports a .381 average against left-handers, and is slugging .452.

“I think, more than anything, I’ve been in the league long enough to do know what I’m capable of,” Murphy said. “I think it was just a matter of using my take a more controlled approach offensively and defensively. And by the grace of God, I have.”