Murphy back in left field, ready to contribute

KANSAS CITY -- David Murphy was back in left field on Friday night, his first start in left field in over a week. Royals right-hander Ervin Santana was on the mound and Murphy was hitting .219 off him, but with three home runs in 32-bats.

"He has been working pretty good and I can see some improvement in his swing," Rangers manager Ron Washington said. "I hope he can take it into the game. It's not about hits; it's about having good at-bats. If he has good at-bats, I'll run him back out there. I've said all along, I want David in that lineup. He brings something. Let's see what happens."

Murphy went into Friday's game hitting .220 with 13 home runs and 44 RBIs. He also had a .281 on-base percentage and a .375 slugging percentage. Murphy has been losing playing time against right-handers to Jim Adduci, a rookie who was called up at the beginning of September. Adduci had three hits against Oakland on Sept. 15, but he is 1-for-13 since then. Murphy did not play during the four-game series against the Rays.

"I'm a baseball player by profession so I want to play baseball," Murphy said. "I want to be on the field. I know I'm capable even though I'm sitting on the bench at the most important time of the year. But I understand the situation I'm in, so I take the attitude that I come to the ballpark every day ready to help out any way I can. Today, I'm in the lineup so I hope I can contribute any way possible and get us a win."