Full Nats lineup travels to Lakeland to face Verlander

LAKELAND, Fla. - Yesterday was a washout for the Nationals, literally and figuratively, since heavy rain canceled their game against the Mets before a single pitch could be thrown. As a result, manager Dusty Baker has brought his entire regular lineup to Joker Marchant Stadium for today's game against Justin Verlander and the Tigers. It's not often all these guys make the 90-minute drive to Lakeland, so this will provide a rare and intriguing matchup against a former AL MVP and Cy Young Award winner.

It's also interesting to see how Baker is constructing his lineup on days like this, most notably the fact he's stacking three left-handed hitters at the top in Ben Revere, Daniel Murphy and Bryce Harper. Baker has addressed the topic a couple of times this spring, basically saying he doesn't mind using three straight lefties like this if they have had success hitting versus left-handed pitchers and if the opposing team doesn't have multiple southpaws in its bullpen.

Joe Ross, meanwhile, gets the start for the Nationals after not being able to pitch yesterday in the rain. Blake Treinen, Matt Belisle and Felipe Rivero also are slated to take the mound this afternoon against a Tigers lineup that includes Justin Upton and J.D. Martinez.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. DETROIT TIGERS
Where: Joker Marchant Stadium, Lakeland, Fla.
Gametime: 1:05 p.m. EDT
TV: None
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com, XM 869
Weather: Mostly cloudy, 76 degrees, wind 6 mph out to right field

NATIONALS
CF Ben Revere
2B Daniel Murphy
RF Bryce Harper
1B Ryan Zimmerman
LF Jayson Werth
3B Anthony Rendon
C Wilson Ramos
SS Danny Espinosa
DH Tyler Moore

RHP Joe Ross

TIGERS
CF Anthony Gose
C James McCann
LF Justin Upton
DH J.D. Martinez
3B Nick Castellanos
RF Nate Schierholtz
2B Andrew Romine
1B John Mayberry Jr.
SS Dixon Machado

RHP Justin Verlander