Starting lineups: Nats vs. Mets in West Palm Beach

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The Nationals are back on their own side of the state after a two-day jaunt to the Gulf Coast. And they’ll stay here until the end of camp, with every remaining game either in West Palm Beach, Jupiter or Port St. Lucie.

Tonight, it’s the Mets coming to town, and they brought some of the big names with them. Yes, Juan Soto made the trip and will bat second tonight against his former team. Pete Alonso, Brandon Nimmo and Jesse Winker are also here, presenting a nice challenge for Mitchell Parker.

Parker seems to have inched ahead in the race for the fifth starter’s job, based mostly on one solid outing Monday (and the struggles of DJ Herz and Shinnosuke Ogasawara) against the Marlins. He’s guaranteed of nothing at this point, but another solid start tonight (especially against that lineup) could help solidify his case.

The guys who played the last two days in Port Charlotte and North Port get tonight off, so the primary names in the lineup are Nathaniel Lowe, Josh Bell, Paul DeJong and Keibert Ruiz. They’ll face Clay Holmes, the former Yankees reliever who recently was named the Mets’ Opening Day starter.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. NEW YORK METS
Where: CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches
Gametime: 6:05 p.m. EDT
TV: None
Radio: None
Weather: Mostly clear, 79 degrees, wind 17 mph right field to left field

NATIONALS
SS Amed Rosario
CF Robert Hassell III
1B Nathaniel Lowe
DH Josh Bell
3B Paul DeJong
C Keibert Ruiz
2B José Tena
RF Andrew Pinckney
LF Daylen Lile

LHP Mitchell Parker

METS
DH Brandon Nimmo
RF Juan Soto
1B Pete Alonso
LF Jesse Winker
C Luis Torrens
CF Tyrone Taylor
2B Luisangel Acuña
SS Donovan Walton
3B Luis De Los Santos

RHP Clay Holmes