JUPITER, Fla. – The Nationals are Marlins are going to see a lot of each other today. These two teams are playing a split-squad, day-night, two-city doubleheader. They’ll meet again tonight at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches. First up, though, it’s a matinee at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium.
Mitchell Parker finally gets to make his first start of the spring after pitching in relief up to this point. The left-hander needs to start building up his pitch count, and he needs to start making his case for the wide-open final spot in the Opening Day rotation. He can set the tone with a solid outing this afternoon, putting pressure on Shinnosuke Ogasawara (who starts the nightcap).
The Nationals who made the short trip to Jupiter for this one are going to have to face one of the best arms in the game in Sandy Alcantara. Best of luck to Nathaniel Lowe, Keibert Ruiz, Josh Bell, Paul DeJong and Co. as they try to get something going at the plate against the Marlins ace.
WASHINGTON NATIONALS (ss) vs. MIAMI MARLINS (ss)
Where: Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium, Jupiter
Gametime: 1:10 p.m. EDT
TV: None
Radio: MLB.com (Marlins’ feed)
Weather: Chance of rain late, 85 degrees, wind 23 mph out to center field
NATIONALS
RF Alex Call
1B Nathaniel Lowe
C Keibert Ruiz
DH Josh Bell
3B Paul DeJong
CF Robert Hassell III
LF Daylen Lile
SS Nasim Nuñez
2B Trey Lipscomb
LHP Mitchell Parker
MARLINS
SS Xavier Edwards
C Nick Fortes
CF Jesus Sanchez
3B Jonah Bride
LF Dane Myers
RF Griffin Conine
1B Matt Mervis
DH Agustin Ramirez
2B Javier Sanoja
RHP Sandy Alcantara