Lineups fun: Martinez may bat pitcher eighth, Harper first

Lineups fun: Martinez may bat pitcher eighth, Harper first
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - If you've been paying attention to the Nationals' starting lineups in recent days, you've certainly noticed a new wrinkle by manager Davey Martinez, rarely seen in these parts before but a bit more common around the rest of the National League: The pitcher batting eighth. It's happened the last three days, with Stephen Strasburg on Tuesday, Gio Gonzalez on Wednesday and Tanner Roark on Thursday night. And, if we are to believe Martinez, it's going to happen...
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Starting lineups: Nats vs. Mets in Port St. Lucie

Starting lineups: Nats vs. Mets in Port St. Lucie
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. - If now is the time to start really preparing for the regular season, the Nationals are doing so by playing back-to-back night games. Might as well, right? This stretch of two games under the lights - unusual for spring training - begins tonight on the road against the Mets and concludes Friday with split-squad night games (home against the Astros, road versus the Marlins). Adam Eaton is starting in left field and leading off tonight, making this the first time he's...
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Starting lineups: Nats vs. Marlins in West Palm Beach

Starting lineups: Nats vs. Marlins in West Palm Beach
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - It's the warmest day of the spring here, and quite muggy. Not exactly the kind of conditions the Nationals are going to face next week in Cincinnati, but they can't do anything about that now. The Nats and Marlins meet for the second straight day, this time in West Palm Beach following yesterday's 9-1 Miami win in Jupiter. It's Stephen Strasburg on the mound, scheduled to throw 75-90 pitches, according to manager Davey Martinez. Strasburg also will be batting eighth,...
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Starting lineups: Nats vs. Marlins in Jupiter

Starting lineups: Nats vs. Marlins in Jupiter
JUPITER, Fla. - Max Scherzer gets two more opportunities to tune up before opening day - and, yes, he will start opening day for the Nationals in Cincinnati, Davey Martinez confirmed this morning - and so that process begins today against the Marlins. Scherzer already threw five innings and 75 pitches in his last outing, so look for him to perhaps extend that even farther today. Adam Eaton and Michael A. Taylor, meanwhile, are both back in the lineup, two days after making their return from...
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Starting lineups: Nats vs. Cardinals in Jupiter

Starting lineups: Nats vs. Cardinals in Jupiter
JUPITER, Fla. - With this week's surprise signing of Jeremy Hellickson, A.J. Cole suddenly finds himself in an uncertain position. The frontrunner for the No. 5 starter's job through the first month of camp, what exactly is his status now? Is he still competing for the job? Is he destined for a spot in the bullpen? Is he in danger of being designated for assignment? The Nationals aren't saying anything for now, other than telling Cole to keep taking the mound and competing. Which he'll do...
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Starting lineups: Nats vs. Mets in West Palm Beach

Starting lineups: Nats vs. Mets in West Palm Beach
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - It's been an awfully quiet spring around here, but that's starting to change. Jeremy Hellickson was in the clubhouse this morning trying on his No. 58 jersey (though the signing won't become official until tomorrow). And the Nationals lineup for today's game against the Mets has a whole lot of interesting things going on. We'll begin with the most important development: Adam Eaton is making his Grapefruit League debut at last, nearly 11 months after tearing the ACL...
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Starting lineups: Nats vs. Cardinals in West Palm Beach

Starting lineups: Nats vs. Cardinals in West Palm Beach
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - It's a beautiful day here, not just for a ballgame but also for some golf. So, naturally, Davey Martinez had his entire team engage in a closest-to-the-pin competition this morning. Everyone had to hit a blind, 100-yard shot off the agility field, over the bullpen and into a circled-off area on Field 2. There were several bullseyes (denoted by three quick air horn blasts) and several more near-bullseyes (denoted by one or two air horn blasts). In the end, the team...
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Starting lineups: Nats vs. Astros in West Palm Beach

Starting lineups: Nats vs. Astros in West Palm Beach
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Would you believe we're now only two weeks away from opening day? It's true: A mere 14 days from now, the Nationals will be taking the field in Cincinnati for a game that actually counts in the standings. If you're looking for the Nats to field their full "A" lineup for the first time this spring, though, you're going to have to keep waiting. Adam Eaton, Michael A. Taylor and Ryan Zimmerman continue to get their at-bats in minor league games, and Daniel Murphy...
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Starting lineups: Nats vs. Mets in West Palm Beach

Starting lineups: Nats vs. Mets in West Palm Beach
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - And we're back. Caught a flight back down to Florida this morning, just in time to see the Nationals take on a Mets split-squad this evening at FITTEAM Ballpark of the Palm Beaches. Thanks as always to Pete Kerzel for filling in during my break; I'll be with you the rest of the way, which actually isn't that much longer. There are only 12 Grapefruit League games left on the schedule before the club packs up and heads north. We still aren't seeing anything close to...
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Starting lineups: Nats vs. Tigers in Lakeland

Starting lineups: Nats vs. Tigers in Lakeland
LAKELAND, Fla. - Today marks the Nationals' lone visit to Tigertown this spring, a far cry from when they made multiple trips here for Grapefruit League play each spring when they were headquartered in Viera. Right-hander A.J. Cole was scheduled to start today's game for the Nationals, but he was scratched, a victim of the stomach bug that's been working its way around the clubhouse. In his place, righty Edwin Jackson will get the call. There aren't many of the Nationals regulars on this...
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Starting lineups: Cardinals vs. Nationals in West Palm Beach

Starting lineups: Cardinals vs. Nationals in West Palm Beach
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - How does new Nationals manager Davey Martinez combat the arrival of daylight saving time? How about letting the Nationals sleep in? Martinez pushed back the clubhouse opening time for today to 9 a.m., an hour later than usual. Coincidentally, the Nationals - and pretty much everyone else reading this - lost an hour of sleep last night as clocks sprung forward at 2 a.m. I don't know about you, but an extra hour of sleep, replacing the one lost overnight, sounds pretty...
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Orioles and Pirates lineups and Trumbo update

Orioles and Pirates lineups and Trumbo update
SARASOTA, Fla. - Anthony Santander gets another start in left field today and Colby Rasmus is leading off and playing right, as the Orioles host the Pirates. Chris Davis remains out of the lineup. Trey Mancini is starting at first base. Left-hander Jayson Aquino is making his first start as Gabriel Ynoa's replacement. Ynoa has been diagnosed with shin splints and will be unavailable for at least the next two weeks. Available relievers include Richard Bleier, Donnie Hart, Brad Brach, Jimmy...
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Starting lineups: Nats vs. Astros in West Palm Beach

Starting lineups: Nats vs. Astros in West Palm Beach
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Don't look now, but the Nationals are running a lot this spring. OK, last year's team with speedster Trea Turner atop the lineup swiped 108 bases, third-most in the National League. But Turner had 46 of those, and only two other players - Michael A. Taylor (17) and Wilmer Difo (10) - were in double figures. This spring, however, the Nats have already recorded 12 thefts, tied for 14th in the majors (they were knotted for eighth before yesterday's off-day). Why is this...
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Starting lineups: Mets vs. Nats in West Palm Beach

Starting lineups: Mets vs. Nats in West Palm Beach
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Stephen Strasburg makes his second start of spring training this afternoon when the Nationals host the Mets. He'll face right-hander Noah Syndergaard. In his first start on March 3, Strasburg worked two innings against the Astros, allowing a run on three hits with two strikeouts. Manager Davey Martinez has been extending his starters in recent games and hopes to get Strasburg up up to 60-65 pitches today. There are few hitters this spring hotter than Moisés Sierra,...
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Starting lineups: Nats vs. Cardinals in Jupiter

Starting lineups: Nats vs. Cardinals in Jupiter
JUPITER, Fla. - Coming off three spotless innings with five strikeouts in his last start against the Mets in Port St. Lucie on March 2, what does Max Scherzer do for an encore? We'll find out this afternoon when the right-hander makes his third Grapefruit League start against the Cardinals. So far this spring, Scherzer is 2-0 with a 1.80 ERA, and has allowed one hit - a home run by the Braves' Dansby Swanson on Feb. 25 - with no walks and eight strikeouts through five innings. The last two...
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Starting lineups: Astros vs. Nats at West Palm Beach

Starting lineups: Astros vs. Nats at West Palm Beach
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Amid persistent rumors that the Nationals may still be trying to boost their rotation with a late free agent signing, right-hander A.J. Cole gets another opportunity to show the Washington brass that he's capable of holding down the fifth spot in the rotation. Cole makes his second Grapefruit League start this afternoon when the Nationals host an Astros split squad in a game that will be televised live on MASN (and replayed twice this evening). In his first spring...
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Starting lineups: Nats vs. Cardinals in Jupiter (Taylor scratched)

Starting lineups: Nats vs. Cardinals in Jupiter (Taylor scratched)
JUPITER, Fla. - If the Nationals are playing at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium, right-hander Tanner Roark must be starting. Roark takes the hill for his third start of the spring today, and all have come in the cozy confines of Roger Dean, where the wind whips across the outfield, turning routine fly balls into adventures, skewing pitching lines and inflating ERAs. This time, the Cardinals will present the opposition; in Roark's first two Grapefruit League starts here, he faced the Marlins....
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Split-squad lineups: Nats vs. Tigers and Mets

Split-squad lineups: Nats vs. Tigers and Mets
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - It's a split-squad day for the Nationals, with one group staying back here in West Palm Beach to face the Tigers and another group heading north to Port St. Lucie to face the Mets. Between the two games, nearly everybody of consequence on the roster is playing somewhere today, and there even will be some prospects from minor league camp coming off the bench (including outfielder Juan Soto here at the home game). Gio Gonzalez starts against a Tigers lineup that includes...
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Starting lineups: Nats vs. Astros in West Palm Beach

Starting lineups: Nats vs. Astros in West Palm Beach
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - I know none of you up north want to hear about the weather down here right now, but it has cooled off considerably across Florida, with the same cold front that has caused so much havoc back home swooping through this state as well. The wind has picked up and the temperatures have dropped - I know, I know, it's still going to be 75 degrees this afternoon - for the first time all spring. With the wind blowing in, it should be a good day to be a pitcher. Not that either...
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Starting lineups: Nats vs. Braves in Lake Buena Vista

Starting lineups: Nats vs. Braves in Lake Buena Vista
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - Good morning from Walt Disney World. If it feels like we were just here ... well, we were. The Nationals played the Braves in this ballpark three days ago. Now they're back after another 2 1/2-hour drive up Florida's Turnpike. On the bright side, the club has only one more road trip longer than 45 minutes the rest of the spring (one game in Lakeland against the Tigers) so it won't be facing this situation much more. Because it's another one of these long trips, the...
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