Starting lineups: Nats vs. Astros in West Palm Beach

By Mark Zuckerman

Nationals

March 12, 2025, 10:30am

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WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The Nationals embark on a rare spring training road trip Thursday, with back-to-back games on the other side of the state. But first up is one more home game, this one against their fellow tenants at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches.

MacKenzie Gore makes what’s actually only his second official start of the spring. The left-hander has still been getting his full workload in, throwing on back fields and in simulated games due to scheduling and the need to get other guys innings in real games. He’s good to go up to five innings or 80 pitches today, per Davey Martinez. And though nothing has officially been said yet, Gore remains on a schedule that lines up with Opening Day.

We’ll see plenty of regulars in the lineup as well, with CJ Abrams, Dylan Crews and James Wood again batting 1-2-3 against Astros left-hander Brandon Walter. Among the potential relievers on today’s list are Jose A. Ferrer, Colin Poche and Eduardo Salazar.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. HOUSTON ASTROS
Where: CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches, West Palm Beach
Gametime: 1:05 p.m. EDT
TV: None
Radio: MLB.com (Astros’ feed)
Weather: Sunny, 77 degrees, wind 5 mph in from right field

NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
RF Dylan Crews
LF James Wood
1B Nathaniel Lowe
DH Josh Bell
3B Paul DeJong
C Keibert Ruiz
2B Amed Rosario
CF Jacob Young

LHP MacKenzie Gore

ASTROS
LF Cooper Hummel
DH Cam Smith
C Victor Caratini
1B Jon Singleton
CF Jake Meyers
2B Shay Whitcomb
RF Ben Gamel
SS Brice Matthews
3B Jesús Bastidas

LHP Brandon Walter