CINCINNATI – And now the grind begins.
With the hoopla of Opening Day – and the traditional just-in-case-of-rainout off-day – now behind them, the Nationals and Reds get down to business. There will be fewer fans and media in attendance. Things won’t be magnified as much. It’s just another ballgame today.
Except for Trey Lipscomb, who makes his major league debut after officially having his contract purchased from Triple-A Rochester, with Nick Senzel going on the 10-day injured list with a fractured right thumb. Lipscomb made all kinds of headlines this spring with his .400 batting average and solid defensive play at multiple positions, but this is still a big leap for the 23-year-old, who only two years ago was playing at Tennessee.
The Nats will try to make it easy on Lipscomb (who starts at third base and bats ninth) by doing more at the plate against Reds flamethrower Hunter Greene than they did against Opening Day starter Frankie Montas. And they’ll hope to get a better showing from Patrick Corbin than they got from Josiah Gray. Though it’s worth noting there’s a strong wind blowing out to left field here today. It’s already a small ballpark under normal conditions. Corbin is going to have to do his best to keep the ball out of the air.
WASHINGTON NATIONALS at CINCINNATI REDS
Where: Great American Ball Park, Cincinnati
Gametime: 4:10 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 74 degrees, wind 17 mph out to left field
NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
RF Lane Thomas
LF Jesse Winker
DH Joey Meneses
1B Joey Gallo
C Keibert Ruiz
CF Eddie Rosario
2B Luis García Jr.
3B Trey Lipscomb
LHP Patrick Corbin
REDS
DH Jonathan India
LF Spencer Steer
1B Christian Encarnacion-Strand
3B Jeimer Candelario
2B Santiago Espinal
SS Elly De La Cruz
CF Stuart Fairchild
C Luke Maile
RF Will Benson
RHP Hunter Greene