WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- For the first time this spring, Nationals second baseman Daniel Murphy joined the batting-practice group along with Bryce Harper, Adam Eaton and a few other starting position players. Prior to Saturday morning, Murphy had only taken swings off a tee or during soft toss, so this represented an encouraging step forward in his progress from this winter's microfracture knee surgery.
"It's the first time I've seen overhand pitching," Murphy said. "So you want to reinforce that I can take it and there's not going to be any discomfort, which there wasn't.