WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – On the heels of Friday’s doubleheader in Port St. Lucie, the Nationals return home for an early 12:05 p.m. exhibition today against the Cardinals. No rest for the weary.
The good news: The Nats are playing winning baseball right now, for whatever that’s worth. Friday’s 7-3 win over the Mets was their sixth straight, leaving their official Grapefruit League record a strong 12-8.
In a bit of a shakeup from the usual, Davey Martinez is using a bullpen game this afternoon. There were two reasons for this: 1) He’s trying to start lining up his regular starters for the regular season (hopefully we’re going to learn more about that in the next few days) and 2) He wants to give the relievers who are competing for spots in the Opening Day bullpen a chance to face major league hitters, which means they need to pitch the early innings.
One of those relievers in the mix is Derek Law, the veteran right-hander who signed a minor league deal shortly after camp opened. He’ll get the first inning today against St. Louis, so here’s his opportunity to make a statement. Also scheduled to pitch: Dylan Floro, Robert Garcia, Robert Gsellman and Luis Perdomo.
UPDATE: James Wood was scratched from the lineup, replaced in right field by Alex Call. Martinez is expected to provide an explanation postgame.
WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. ST. LOUIS CARDINALS
Where: CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches, West Palm Beach
Gametime: 12:05 p.m.
TV: None
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 82 degrees, wind 5 mph out to left field
NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
2B Trey Lipscomb
DH Jesse Winker
C Keibert Ruiz
LF Eddie Rosario
RF James Wood
1B Juan Yepez
3B Ildemaro Vargas
RF Alex Call
CF Jacob Young
RHP Derek Law
CARDINALS
CF Dylan Carlson
SS Masyn Winn
1B Matt Carpenter
C Willson Contreras
DH Brandon Crawford
2B Thomas Saggase
3B Cesar Prieto
LF Jared Young
RF Matt Koperniak
RHP Miles Mikolas