Stephen Strasburg makes his second spring start this afternoon, and the right-hander will be facing the same team and starting pitcher - the Astros and righty Lance McCullers - that he saw in his first outing on Tuesday.
Since it's his second outing, expect Strasburg to push toward three innings and about 50-60 pitches. That would be in line with a usual second start for a starting pitcher, and since Strasburg is a creature of habit, he won't want to deviate from the established routine.
Expect Strasburg to spend more time trying to perfect his changeup, a pitch he seems to have trouble mastering in the wind and humidity of a Florida spring. His changeup was a little off in his first start, something Strasburg attributed to weather conditions, and he had some deep counts that pushed his pitch total up more quickly than he'd have liked.
This morning, the Nats made their first camp cuts.
Right-hander Joan Adon and infielders Yasel Antuna and Jake Noll were optioned to Triple-A Rochester.
The following players were reassigned to the minor league portion of the major league camp: right-handers Bryan Bonnell, Cade Cavalli, Jacob Condra-Bogan, Tyler Dyson, Tyler Eppler, Cole Henry, Gabe Klobosits, Jefry Rodriguez and Jackson Rutledge; left-handers Tim Cate and Matt Cronin; infielders Jackson Cluff and Drew Mendoza; outfielder Cody Wilson; and catchers Israel Pineda, Jakson Reetz and Raudy Read.
WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. HOUSTON ASTROS
Where: The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches, West Palm Beach
Gametime: 1:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MLB.tv (Astros feed); MLB Network (3 a.m. delayed broadcast)
Radio: 106.7 The Fan, MLB.com
Weather: Partly sunny, 79 degrees, wind 9 mph out to right field
NATIONALS
CF Victor Robles
RF Juan Soto
1B Josh Bell
LF Kyle Schwarber
C Yan Gomes
2B Luis GarcÃa
3B Carter Kieboom
SS Hernán Pérez
DH Blake Swihart
RHP Stephen Strasburg
ASTROS
2B Jose Altuve
LF Michael Brantley
SS Carlos Correa
RF Kyle Tucker
DH Yordan Ãlvarez
1B Yuli Gurriel
3B Abraham Toro
CF Myles Straw
C MartÃn Maldonado
RHP Lance McCullers
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