Starting lineups: Nats vs. Mets in Port St. Lucie

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. – It’s the penultimate day of spring training, which is really just an excuse to use the word penultimate. The Nationals finalized their Opening Day rotation and narrowed down the list of remaining candidates for backup catcher and 26th man on the bench Friday, but there are still a few more things to do. Chief among them: Finalize the bullpen, which for now still has 10 candidates for eight spots.

Today sees the Nats head north to face the Mets for the final road game of the spring. And it sees MacKenzie Gore take the mound for his final tune-up before his first career Opening Day start five days from now against the Phillies. Gore reached the 90-pitch mark in his last outing, and the plan actually is to dial him back today, conserving pitches and energy for the regular season.

Today’s lineup has some different looks. James Wood will lead off, with CJ Abrams and Dylan Crews staying back in West Palm Beach. Paul DeJong will play shortstop for the first time this spring, just a chance to remind him how things look at that position in case he’s needed there in an emergency during the season. And the two guys battling for the last spot on the bench (José Tena, Juan Yepez) are both starting, hoping to do something big that could lock up the job.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. NEW YORK METS
Where: Clover Park, Port St. Lucie
Gametime: 1:10 p.m. EDT
TV: MLB.tv (Mets’ feed)
Radio: None
Weather: Sunny, 73 degrees, wind 5 mph in from right field

NATIONALS
LF James Wood
DH Amed Rosario
2B Luis García Jr.
SS Paul DeJong
C Keibert Ruiz
RF Alex Call
1B Juan Yepez
3B José Tena
CF Jacob Young

LHP MacKenzie Gore

METS
SS Francisco Lindor
RF Juan Soto
1B Pete Alonso
DH Brandon Nimmo
3B Mark Vientos
LF Jesse Winker
C Luis Torrens
2B Luisangel Acuña
CF Jose Siri

RHP Tylor Megill