Scherzer, Taylor playing prominent roles on opening day (with lineups)

Nationals manager Matt Williams sends new ace Max Scherzer to the mound today to set the tone against the New York Mets. It will be the former American League Cy Young Award winner's first opening day start.

"I mean, this is fun," said Scherzer. "I can't wait for the season to start. Spring training's so long for us. It's very monotonous for us. So for us to actually get out there and play real baseball and have it count, we're all looking forward to it. We haven't done anything to meet any expectations yet. We've got to go out there and play good baseball. So hopefully we'll get off to a good start."

The Nationals have a new center fielder in the starting lineup, too. Michael A. Taylor replaces Denard Span, who is recovering from right core muscle surgery.

When Span went down, the 23-year-old Taylor took full advantage of the opportunity, leading the Nats in homers (four) and total bases (42) while hitting .323 this spring. His rare combination of speed and power will be showcased in the leadoff spot against Mets starter Bartolo Colon today.

Not many would have predicted that 35-year-old Dan Uggla would be the Nats' starting second baseman on opening day. The three-time All-Star rebounded from vision problems that tanked his career the past few seasons and pleasantly surprised the Nats brass throughout the Grapefruit League season.

"I came in confident," said Uggla. "You're a little nervous to see how it will play out once you get into a game situation, just because you want all that work that you did in the offseason - especially this kind of work I did with my eyes - you want it all to pay off. You want to be back to your old self, I guess, if you want to say that. I felt exactly that and more, so I was very pleased."

Here are today's lineups for the game on MASN. Coverage begins at 3 p.m. with an hour-long edition of "Nats Xtra," followed by live coverage of the opener.

For the Mets:

RF Curtis Granderson
3B David Wright
1B Lucas Duda
LF Michael Cuddyer
2B Daniel Murphy
CF Juan Lagares
C Travis d'Arnaud
SS Wilmer Flores
RHP Bartolo Colon

For the Nationals:

CF Michael A. Taylor
3B Yunel Escobar
RF Bryce Harper
1B Ryan Zimmerman
C Wilson Ramos
SS Ian Desmond
2B Dan Uggla
LF Tyler Moore
RHP Max Scherzer