JUPITER, Fla. – It hadn’t really dawned on Jake Irvin that his final start of the spring came against what very well may be the Cardinals’ Opening Day lineup, which the young Nationals right-hander proceeded to hold to one hit and two weeks over six sparkling innings.
Asked if he felt it was significant he performed that well against a full major league lineup, Irvin shrugged.
“Sure, I can’t say necessarily that it is,” he replied. “For me, it’s competing, throwing strikes, a lot of strikes today. That’s the main goal.”
Consider this, then, another important step in Irvin’s development throughout a spring that proved to be exceptional. After getting roughed up once March 1 while admittedly working on some new things, he flipped the script completely, focused on competing to the best of his abilities.
And the results were fantastic. Over his final three Grapefruit League starts, Irvin tossed 15 scoreless innings, scattering four hits and two walks while striking out 13.