Why Turner is batting sixth in today's finale (Nats win 4-2)

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - When they board their flight to Washington this evening, the Nationals will have played 31 Grapefruit League games over the last month. And they almost certainly will not have tried out the starting lineup they'll be using on opening day.

With Ryan Zimmerman having spent all but one day this spring playing in minor league games, and with others having shuffled in and out of the lineup, manager Davey Martinez won't get a chance to try out his ideal batting order, the one he plans to hand to the plate umpire Thursday in Cincinnati.

Is that a problem?

"No," Martinez insisted this morning. "I have written down lineups in my head and I've written them down on paper. I've got a lot of information going into the (opening) series. Everybody's healthy, which is good. We're missing (Daniel) Murphy, but like I've said, with Howie (Kendrick) and (Wilmer) Difo we're covered. So I feel good about going into this thing."

Murphy's slow recovery from knee surgery also threw a wrench into things, and it appears it will be at least several weeks (if not more) before the veteran second baseman is ready to go. Martinez intends to use some combination of Kendrick and Difo in his place, with the more experienced Kendrick probably getting more playing time than his young counterpart.

Today's game offered Martinez the closest opportunity he got all spring to try out a real lineup, with Matt Adams replacing Zimmerman at first base and Kendrick starting at second base.

It included a significant wrinkle, though, something that hadn't been seen previously this spring nor at any other point in the last two years: Trea Turner batting sixth, behind Adams and in front of Michael A. Taylor.

Aside from a handful games when he batted seventh or eighth as a rookie, Turner has only batted first or second in the big leagues. He has hit third at different times in his life. But never sixth. Until today.

"He's a pure hitter," Martinez said. "I like the fact he just goes up there and hits. It's a good opportunity for him to drive in runs, a good opportunity to create havoc in the middle of the lineup when he gets on. And hitting in front of Taylor, I'm hoping Taylor gets more fastballs. It would be really nice. And watching those two do their thing, it would be nice. I don't know if that's something we're going to do, but I wanted to see what it looked like."

The odds of this particular lineup being used Thursday seem slim. But whatever Martinez decides to do, he'll most likely be doing it off his own thoughts and whatever statistical information he has at his disposal. He won't be basing it off of what he was actually able to try out this spring.

Update: Stephen Strasburg picked a good time to put together his best start of the spring. In his final tune-up before his regular season debut, Strasburg dominated the Cardinals' "A" lineup. He struck out 10 through his first 4 2/3 innings, and though he lost some command in the sixth with back-to-back walks, he got his pitch count up to 96 before departing with only two runs having crossed the plate. The Nats' sort-of-"A" lineup, meanwhile, was dumbfounded for four innings by surprise St. Louis starter Jordan Hicks. The minor leaguer was a last-minute replacement for Adam Wainwright, who strained his hamstring and is now going to open the season on the DL. The Nats probably would have preferred to face Wainwright. Hicks, who has never pitched above Single-A, showed off a 100-mph fastball that was virtually unhittable. The Nats put only one man on base against him: Turner, who lined a comebacker off Hicks' leg for a single. They were thrilled when the Cardinals brought in John Brebbia to pitch the fifth. Adams and Taylor each launched tape-measure home runs, Adams' rattling off the scoreboard in right-center and Taylor's reaching the walkway beyond the grassy berm in left-center. So it's 2-2 here in the sixth.

Update II: The Nats took a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the seventh, thanks to a leadoff triple by Wilmer Difo and a sacrifice fly by Moisés Sierra. Tim Collins replaced Strasburg to finish the sixth, and Enny Romero pitched a scoreless seventh. Ryan Madson is on for the eighth.

Update III: Make it 4-2 thanks to Chris Dominguez's solo homer in the bottom of the eighth.

Update IV: It's a 4-2 final, and the Nats' Grapefruit League schedule is done.