Lineups: Nats vs. Astros in West Palm Beach (updated)

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - One hundred fifteen days have passed since the Nationals and Astros last took the field, a late October night that will forever bring smiles to anyone who lives in Washington and tears to anyone who lives in Houston. Tonight, both teams return to begin their quest to reach late October again.

The Grapefruit League opener is a big deal any spring, but it's never been as big a deal as it is tonight. In a perfect convergence of events, this game between co-inhabitants of FITTEAM Ballpark of the Palm Beaches features both competitors from last year's World Series. It features the man who used to manage the Nationals and now manages the Astros. And it features the team that recently was convicted of cheating during its 2017 championship run playing a ballgame for the first time since the whole story broke.

This is officially an Astros home game, which means there won't be any formal celebration of the Nationals tonight. (That should come Sunday afternoon, when the teams meet again in reversed roles.) But there are going to be plenty of Nats fans in attendance, and that should make for quite a scene.

There will be far more Nationals regulars on the field than Astros regulars. Davey Martinez has Max Scherzer on the mound (for one or two innings). He also has a lineup that includes Victor Robles (getting his first opportunity to lead off), Michael A. Taylor, Juan Soto, Eric Thames, Yan Gomes and Carter Kieboom (getting his first opportunity to start at third base). Joe Ross is expected to be the first arm out of the bullpen, with Hunter Strickland, Aaron Barrett, Austen Williams, Dakota Bacus and Kyle Finnegan among the other relievers on the lineup card who could pitch an inning along the way.

Dusty Baker isn't playing his regulars in his first game as Houston manager. His starter, Cristian Javier, is a 22-year-old right-hander who put up big numbers (8-3, 1.74 ERA, 170 strikeouts in 113 2/3 innings) across three minor league affiliates last season. None of the big name position players who were at the center of the cheating scandal are scheduled to play tonight.

Now for the best news of all: You can watch tonight's game on MASN. Bob Carpenter, F.P. Santangelo and Alex Chappell are all in town and will have the call live at 6 p.m. Charlie Slowes and Dave Jageler also are here and will have the game on 106.7 FM. And if you live outside the D.C. market, you can watch on MLB Network (though I believe that will be showing the Astros' broadcast).

Update: Andrew Stevenson is now batting sixth as the designated hitter in place of Welington Castillo.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. HOUSTON ASTROS
Where: FITTEAM Ballpark of the Palm Beaches
Gametime: 6:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB Network (outside D.C. market), MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 1500 AM, MLB.com
Weather: Slight chance of rain, 69 degrees, wind 14 mph in from center field

NATIONALS
CF Victor Robles
RF Michael A. Taylor
LF Juan Soto
1B Eric Thames
C Yan Gomes
DH Andrew Stevenson
3B Carter Kieboom
2B Wilmer Difo
SS Adrián Sanchez

RHP Max Scherzer

ASTROS
CF Myles Straw
SS Jeremy Pena
1B Taylor Jones
3B Abraham Toro
LF Ronnie Dawson
DH Lorenzo Quintana
C Garrett Stubbs
2B Jack Mayfield
RF Stephen Wrenn

RHP Cristian Javier