PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. – As the Mets kept fouling off everything MacKenzie Gore was throwing at them, driving up his pitch count and limiting him to only three innings in his spring training finale, you could only imagine the Nationals left-hander’s frustration mounting.

Then mention it to Gore, inform him of the gargantuan foul ball tally (24 of the 74 total pitches he threw) and watch his eyes actually light up.

“That’s probably a good thing, really,” he said. “Because I think everyone was kind of aware what was going on. I’m not going to get too caught up in location, trying to be perfect. I was going at them with heaters, and we did get a lot of foul balls, which is good. I thought it was good.”

What exactly was going on today during the Nats’ 5-5 exhibition tie at Clover Park? Gore, confident he was already ready for Opening Day and cognizant he’ll be facing the Mets plenty of times this season, opted to keep his pitching plan as basic as could be. He threw 47 fastballs, compared to only 13 curveballs, 12 changeups and two sliders.

If this game counted, he never would’ve done that, deploying much more deception in an attempt to induce way more than eight total whiffs from New York’s batters.

NORTH PORT, Fla. – Major leaguers usually have to learn how to hit the ball the other way. Some never figure it out and develop reputations as dead-pull hitters.

James Wood has already established his ability to crush the ball to the opposite field in a manner few hitters of any age can. Now the Nationals' young star is learning how to pull it, fully completing his offensive game.

And it was all on display the last two days. After launching a first-inning homer to left Thursday against the Rays, Wood pulled a pair of doubles this afternoon during the Nats’ 5-3 exhibition win over the Braves.

“That’s good,” manager Davey Martinez said. “He’s getting ready in time. He’s not really trying to do a whole lot, which is awesome. His hands, he’s staying through the zone a really long time. To see him turn on balls like that, knowing he can do that, it was great.”

Wood’s homer Thursday came on the first pitch he saw from Tampa Bay’s Shane Baz. His first double today came on the first pitch he saw from Atlanta’s Spencer Schwellenbach, and he drove it to deep right-center, the ball caroming off the wall at CoolToday Park.

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. – CJ Abrams’ quads appear to be just fine, thank you very much. And the young trio atop the Nationals lineup appears to be primed for some big things this season if Thursday’s performance was a sign of things to come.

With Abrams back playing one day after departing in the first inning with bilateral quadriceps cramps, manager Davey Martinez was able to field his preferred 1-2-3 atop his batting order against the Rays, with Abrams leading off, Dylan Crews batting second and James Wood third.

That trio got the game off to a picture-perfect start: Abrams led off with a single to center, Crews followed with a single to right-center that advanced his teammate to third base and then Wood drove everyone and himself in with a three-run homer to left off Tampa Bay starter Shane Baz.

“With James, we talk about guys on base. I want him to be the guy that drives in runs,” Martinez said. “He jumped on a pitch there right away and hit it a long way.”

Wood is a noted patient hitter, with a keen eye at the plate for such a young player. But the reason Martinez has him batting third in this lineup is precisely for scenarios like Thursday’s opening frame, when he was able to use his tremendous opposite-field power to put a big number on the board with one swing of the bat.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Who’s ready for some more baseball? The venues have switched, but the teams remain the same as the Nationals and Marlins play the second half of their day-night, split-squad doubleheader, this time at the friendly confines of CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches.

With Mitchell Parker having looked pretty sharp in today’s matinee, there’s some increased pressure on Shinnosuke Ogasawara to perform better tonight. The Japanese left-hander hasn’t blown anyone’s socks off so far in his first three spring training starts. At some point as we move into mid-March, results do start to matter.

The top of the lineup features the big boys, headlined by the enticing 1-2-3 of CJ Abrams, Dylan Crews and James Wood. Luis García Jr. and Jacob Young are also starting tonight against Marlins right-hander Cal Quantrill.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS (ss) vs. MIAMI MARLINS (ss)
Where: CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches, West Palm Beach
Gametime: 6:05 p.m. EDT
TV: None
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Rain ending, 73 degrees, wind 21 mph out to right field

NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
RF Dylan Crews
LF James Wood
DH Andrés Chaparro
2B Luis García Jr.
3B Amed Rosario
1B Juan Yepez
C Riley Adams
CF Jacob Young

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The ball shot off CJ Abrams’ bat and made a beeline for the left field wall, clearing it with some room to spare as the Nationals shortstop rounded the bases to applause Friday night from the crowd at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches.

A solo homer on March 7 from an established big leaguer isn’t all that noteworthy, but this one felt different not because of who hit it, but where he hit it.

Abrams hit 20 home runs for the Nats last season. Every single one of them was hit to right or right-center field. This one, of course, went to the opposite field, which made it very notable to the 24-year-old.

“It was big,” Abrams said. “I’ve been seeing it really well up there. I’ve been swinging at better pitches. The results early on probably wasn’t the best, but I was getting good contact.”

Abrams entered Friday only 3-for-19 at the plate this spring, making a lot of contact early in the count. He hadn’t struck out, but he hadn’t been hitting the ball with much authority, either.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Kyle Finnegan woke up early this morning, raring to go. Unfortunately, he didn’t need to report to the ballpark until lunchtime, because the Nationals had a night game against the Mets.

“I woke up early like usual and was just staring at the clock like: ‘When can I go in the field?’” the veteran closer said with a laugh. “Being around for a while now, that’s a good thing to still be super excited to throw in a back field spring training game.”

Finnegan indeed only threw an inning of a simulated game this afternoon, facing a quartet of teammates while coaches watched from behind a screen. Hardly anything to get excited about. But for the 33-year-old, who re-signed with the Nats only a week ago, this was a big deal: the first time he faced live hitters since the end of the 2024 season.

Though he kept himself ready while unsigned this spring throwing off a mound at home in Houston, the only “batter’ Finnegan had faced was a cardboard cutout figure positioned in the batter’s box. Not quite the same as facing Robert Hassell III, Brady House, Stone Garrett and José Tena on Field 2 outside CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches.

“I was anxious to throw today, super excited,” he said. “It’s that natural progression of taking that next step. No matter what you do in the offseason, nothing can prepare you for that first week of spring training, just how you body responds to it. Today was a big step forward.”

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Hello once again from sunny South Florida. It’s good to be back after a short respite at home. Many thanks as always to Bobby Blanco for a dynamite job covering the team all week in my stead.

The Nationals are back home with a night game against the Mets, and most of the regulars are in there for this one. That includes, for the first time this spring, the 1-2-3 of CJ Abrams, Dylan Crews and James Wood atop Davey Martinez’s lineup. That seems to be the order they have in mind to open the season, if everyone’s healthy and productive. We’ll see how they look against New York right-hander Paul Blackburn this evening.

Trevor Williams gets the ball for the Nats in his third outing of the spring. The veteran right-hander gave up a costly, two-run homer to the Marlins in his debut. He then held the Astros to one run over 2 1/3 innings last time out, but did give up five hits and a walk in the process. Williams faces a New York lineup tonight featuring Francisco Lindor, Pete Alonso, Mark Vientos and old pal Joey Meneses.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. NEW YORK METS
Where: CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches, West Palm Beach
Gametime: 6:05 p.m. EST
TV: None
Radio: 980 AM, MLB.com
Weather: Clear, 73 degrees, wind 9 mph out to left field

NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
CF Dylan Crews
LF James Wood
1B Nathaniel Lowe
3B Paul DeJong
2B Luis García Jr.
RF Alex Call
DH Andrés Chaparro
C Andrew Knizner

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The Automated Balls and Strikes system won’t be used in Major League Baseball during the regular season. But it’s getting a good look during spring training.

The Nationals don’t have access to the technology at the CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches. It’s only available at spring training stadiums that house full-season minor league teams. The Nats and Astros only have their Florida Complex League teams playing on the back fields of the complex.

But the Nats get a chance to test the system when they visit Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium in Jupiter or Clover Park in Port St. Lucie. And it provided two interesting moments in yesterday’s 8-7 win over the Marlins.

A Nats lineup filled with regulars got to face former Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcantara as he works his way back from October 2023 Tommy John surgery. Some for the very first time. The Miami right-hander was efficient over his 2 ⅔ innings, but his only mishaps came while using his ABS challenges.

Budding Nats stars James Wood and Robert Hassell III – both of the blockbuster Juan Soto trade in 2022 – displayed impressive eyes at the plate against one of the league’s best pitchers.

JUPITER, Fla. – Today’s Grapefruit League matchup between the Nationals and Marlins started off slow. In fact, it started late before it started off slow.

After a 23-minute rain delay, the first three innings seemed to drag along with nothing really of note happening. James Wood was playing left field for the first time since dealing with right quad tendinitis, but he only had one ball hit toward him.

A slow-paced, actionless game is not uncommon during spring training.

Then the action picked up real fast and all of a sudden the game – which resulted in an 8-7 Nationals victory – was quite interesting. The batters started taking advantage of the 20-plus mph wind gusts out to left-center field, as opposed to the incoming winds yesterday in West Palm Beach.

Through the first three innings, the only things of note were Andrew Pinckney’s strong throw from right field for an out at home, and Wood and Robert Hassell III winning two Automated Balls and Strikes (ABS) challenges against former Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcantara.

JUPITER, Fla. – The time has come for James Wood to finally return to the outfield after dealing with right quad tendinitis over the first few weeks of Nationals spring training.

Wood will play four or five innings in left field while batting second behind leadoff man CJ Abrams in this afternoon’s game against the Marlins in Jupiter. The big outfielder has appeared in two games as the designated hitter, going 2-for-6 with one run, one walk and one strikeout, and faces a tough challenge today in Miami starter Sandy Alcantara.

“He's gonna probably play about four or five innings out there,” manager Davey Martinez said during his pregame media session. “We'll see how it goes, but he played well yesterday. He looked good. He says he's ready to go, so we'll get him out there and get him some regular reps out in the field.”

Wood took part in the Nationals’ fly ball drills yesterday and then played a couple of innings in the outfield during a simulated intrasquad game on the back fields at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches. The 22-year-old reported that he was fine afterwards and told his manager he’s ready to return to the field in an actual Grapefruit League game.

“I think everything went well yesterday and he felt good,” Martinez said. “He's been itching to get back out there. So we'll get him going.

JUPITER, Fla. – This afternoon the Nationals will make their first of back-to-back trips to Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium over the next two days. They’ll play the Marlins in their first 15-minute trip up the road from their home in West Palm Beach.

We’ve landed on another multiple-starter day as Shinnosuke Ogasawara and Mitchell Parker are both scheduled to pitch against the Fish. The plan is for each left-hander to get up to 40 pitches and about three innings.

Ogasawara had a tough time during his last outing against the Mets’ A lineup. He completed 1 ⅔ innings with four hits, four runs (two earned), one walk and two strikeouts on 32 pitches, 24 strikes. He also served up a two-run home run to Juan Soto. But he should have a better time against this Marlins squad that is projected to finish last in the National League East.

Parker was charged with five hits, a double, two runs and two strikeouts in 2 ⅓ innings on 42 pitches, 31 strikes, against the Mets on Friday. He did, however, strike out Soto on a high fastball.

The lineup – which includes regulars James Wood, making his first appearance in the outfield, and Luis García Jr. – will have a tough challenge to start this one. Former Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcantara makes his third start of the spring. The right-hander has yet to give up a run or walk over three innings, recording four strikeouts and allowing only three hits. Alcantara missed all of last season while recovering from October 2023 Tommy John surgery.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The Nationals were back to work on the back fields at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches after Monday’s true off-day. No one reported to the complex yesterday. Everyone returned today.

That included Luis García Jr., who was a late scratch from Saturday’s nightcap of a split-squad doubleheader with an illness that included a throat issue and fever. The second baseman said he was feeling better in the clubhouse this morning. Manager Davey Martinez said García will be back to baseball activity today.

That activity will take place on the back fields while the Nats host a split-squad Cardinals team inside the stadium for today’s Grapefruit League action (which will also be live on MASN at 1 p.m.). The Nats will play a simulated intrasquad game on the back fields for those who aren’t playing against the Cards.

“He's going to do all baseball activity,” the skipper said of García during his pregame media session. “He's going to go back there and play in that game. And then if he feels good, he'll be back in there tomorrow.”

James Wood will also play on the back fields, which is a significant development because he will be playing a few “innings” in the outfield for the first time since reporting to camp with right quad tendinitis. The big outfielder has appeared in two games as the designated hitter, going 2-for-6 with one run, one walk and one strikeout.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – After some initial confusion this morning, James Wood will return to the Nationals lineup as the designated hitter for this afternoon’s spring training game against the Astros.

Manager Davey Martinez said after Wood’s spring debut Friday that the towering outfielder would DH again today. But when the Nats lineup was initially submitted, it did not include Wood and instead had Josh Bell batting fourth as the designated hitter.

A brief moment of panic and concern was quickly quashed by Martinez in his pregame media session. The error was caused by the skipper’s habit of filling out lineups days in advance and not knowing Wood’s availability while doing so earlier this week.

There were no setbacks or anything of the sort. All is well.

“He's feeling good,” Martinez said of Wood, who has been dealing with right quad tendinitis. “Depending on how long the game goes, we'll hope to get him three at-bats again. Then we'll see how he's doing.”

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – If yesterday’s split-squad doubleheader wasn’t enough, we’re right back for more baseball this afternoon!

Trevor Williams gets the ball for his second start of spring this afternoon against the Astros. The veteran right-hander was the first Nationals starter to go multiple innings in his first outing, tossing 23 pitches, 16 strikes, Tuesday against the Marlins.

Williams had a quick first inning with only seven pitches against the Fish, but he ran into some trouble in the second, serving up a two-run home run. He wasn’t as concerned with that longball as he was proud of his ability to throw all of his pitches for strikes. But he is only two years removed from leading the National League in home runs allowed, so keeping the ball in the yard would be welcomed today, especially against a Houston lineup filled with regulars.

James Wood (right quad tendinitis) is not in the lineup as the designated hitter as manager Davey Martinez said he would. Wood had the day off yesterday following his spring debut on Friday, in which he went 1-for-2 with a walk in three plate appearances against the Mets. And the Nats will again be without Luis García Jr., who is not in the lineup after being scratched from last night’s game with an illness. (Although, he probably wasn’t scheduled to play today anyway).

The Nats bats will have their work cut out for them against Astros starter Ronel Blanco (no relation to yours truly). But the Nats, too, have a number of other regulars playing this afternoon, hopefully making for an entertaining spring training game.

JUPITER, Fla. – The Nationals are now known for their speed. They made a point to take advantage of their youth and the new rules that encourage basestealing to swipe a major league-best 223 bags last year.

But that young speed manifests itself defensively, too.

The Nats’ projected starting outfield of James Wood in left, Jacob Young in center and Dylan Crews in right boasts three of the fastest guys on the team. And with all three having extensive experience playing center field, manager Davey Martinez feels very confident they have the entire outfield covered.

“When I look at it, all three of them were center fielders. So you potentially have three center fielders playing together, which is pretty awesome,” the skipper said before today’s split-squad doubleheader against the Cardinals and Marlins. “Those guys, I told them I expect them to get to everything. I really do. And they do. They're really good out there when you watch them play together. Jacob does a great job of moving them around. They follow Jacob's suit. They understand that he is the center fielder. He takes control and takes command out there, which is awesome.”

Young’s first full season as a major league center fielder was one of the best defensive seasons the Nats have ever seen.

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. – When Shinnosuke Ogasawara took the mound on Sunday back in West Palm Beach, he faced a Mets lineup that wasn’t filled with everyday major leaguers for his first start on American soil. It was a relatively manageable order for him to navigate in his first taste of Grapefruit League action.

In his second start this afternoon, the Japanese left-hander had to don his gray Nationals pants for the first time and make the hour-long bus ride up to Clover Park to face the same Mets team, although with a vastly different lineup.

New York manager Carlos Mendoza ran out his gauntlet of a lineup, which has $1.298 billion invested in just the first four hitters alone in Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto, Pete Alonso and Brandon Nimmo.

Ogasawara held his own in the first inning of the game – in which the Nats were shut out 7-0 – but had a rude introduction to the real National League East in the second.

“Even in Japan, we know everybody that are All-Stars,” Ogasawara said, via interpreter Jumpei Ohashi, “so (I was) so excited to get on the mound today.”

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. – It’s only the first five contests of Grapefruit League play, but no team wants a star player to have to sit out game action this early in spring training. Any time one does, panic ensues and is not quelled until said player returns to the field.

James Wood’s absence during the Nationals’ first week of spring training games struck fear into the hearts of fans. But the young outfielder and the team were not concerned his right quad tendinitis would hold him out for long.

He’s been able to take batting practice the entire time and returned to outfield work over the weekend. Now he’s ready to make his 2025 game debut.

Wood will be the Nats designated hitter and lead off to start this afternoon’s game against the Mets. Manager Davey Martinez moved him up to the top spot so he can get his at-bats quickly and be done for the day.

“He's gonna DH. We'll hopefully get him three at-bats,” Martinez said during his pregame media session. “I led him off to see if we can get him at least three at-bats, but we'll see how he feels. I want him just to go get his at-bats.”

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. – The Nationals make their first “long” trip of the spring up to Port St. Lucie this afternoon. The hour-long drive feels especially long when they have yet to travel more than the 15 minutes it takes to get to Jupiter.

Any Nats fans that follow the team from West Palm Beach will be rewarded by seeing James Wood’s 2025 Grapefruit League debut. The young outfielder has been held out of game action so far with right quad tendinitis, but is now ready to at least get some live at-bats as the designated hitter. Wood was originally lined up to DH in last night’s home game against the Braves, but manager Davey Martinez wanted him to stick to his early morning routine and prepare for an afternoon game. Plus, waiting one extra day couldn’t hurt.

Shinnosuke Ogasawara makes his second start of the spring since signing a two-year, $3.5 million deal with the Nats, the first free agent the team has signed directly from Asia. The 27-year-old left-hander pitched a scoreless inning on eight pitches with a double in his debut on Sunday, but he did surrender a lot of loud contact to a Mets team he’ll face today.

And look who’s in the star-studded Mets lineup Ogasawara will be facing: None other than old friend Juan Soto. This will be the first time the Nats will see Soto in Mets blue and orange since he signed his historic 15-year, $765 million contract in December.

Mitchell Parker is scheduled to follow Ogasawara as part of his “start” day as well.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Jake Irvin planned to throw two innings tonight. That would be the standard ramp-up after throwing only one inning in his spring debut five days ago.

Just one problem: Irvin was too good during those two innings. He faced six batters, he retired all six and he needed only 23 pitches to do it.

So the Nationals sent the right-hander back to the mound for an unplanned third inning. At which point the sharpness and efficiency that defined the start of his night eluded him and brought a quick end to his night.

Back-to-back walks with one out in the third raised Irvin’s pitch count to 37 and brought manager Davey Martinez out of the dugout. It wasn’t a big deal; it’s still Feb. 27, after all. But for Irvin, it left a bit of a sour taste in his mouth at night’s end as the Nats took a 4-3 loss at the hands of the Braves.

“I’m excited to ride the wave of the first two innings going into the next one,” Irvin said when asked about the third inning.

JUPITER, Fla. – MacKenzie Gore arguably is the Nationals’ No. 1 starter. Michael Soroka is the Nats’ highest-paid starter. So why hasn’t either pitched in a game yet this spring, and why isn’t either scheduled to start any of the next four days?

“They’ll pitch here soon,” manager Davey Martinez said this morning. “We’ve still got time. We figured if we get them six starts here, they’ll be in good shape.”

So, this was by design, not the result of any setbacks?

“They’re both good,” Martinez said. “It’s based on conversations with them, what they need.”

Both Gore and Soroka confirmed that sentiment. Both have been throwing off a mound. Both threw Monday when the Nationals were off, with Gore saying he threw two innings against live hitters in the batting cage.