ARLINGTON, Texas -- Josh Hamilton sitting out Sunday against the New York Mets meant a third consecutive start for David Murphy.

"He got lucky," Rangers manager Ron Washington said. "Decided to give Hamilton a day off and now he's got three in a row. That's what he's here for."

Murphy hasn't done much to take advantage of that opportunity. He went 1-for-9 in the three-game series against the Mets, dropping his average to .233. Murphy was 0-for-3 and left three runners stranded Sunday.

That showing doesn't bode well for playing time going forward heading into three-game series in Murphy's hometown of Houston.

"It's been a fight for a few months now," Murphy said. "I don't feel like I'm where I want to be. The difficult part to analyze is do I look at the process or do I look at the results? A game like today, I feel like I had some good swings and hit the ball pretty well, but there's a zero in the box score. I didn't get any hits and it's frustrating because of how I've struggled all season long.

"Last year, if I'm hitting .270 or .280, a day like today is a lot easier to shake off."