Starting lineups: Nats vs. Mets in Port St. Lucie

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. – The Nationals make their first “long” trip of the spring up to Port St. Lucie this afternoon. The hour-long drive feels especially long when they have yet to travel more than the 15 minutes it takes to get to Jupiter.

Any Nats fans that follow the team from West Palm Beach will be rewarded by seeing James Wood’s 2025 Grapefruit League debut. The young outfielder has been held out of game action so far with right quad tendinitis, but is now ready to at least get some live at-bats as the designated hitter. Wood was originally lined up to DH in last night’s home game against the Braves, but manager Davey Martinez wanted him to stick to his early morning routine and prepare for an afternoon game. Plus, waiting one extra day couldn’t hurt.

Shinnosuke Ogasawara makes his second start of the spring since signing a two-year, $3.5 million deal with the Nats, the first free agent the team has signed directly from Asia. The 27-year-old left-hander pitched a scoreless inning on eight pitches with a double in his debut on Sunday, but he did surrender a lot of loud contact to a Mets team he’ll face today.

And look who’s in the star-studded Mets lineup Ogasawara will be facing: None other than old friend Juan Soto. This will be the first time the Nats will see Soto in Mets blue and orange since he signed his historic 15-year, $765 million contract in December.

Mitchell Parker is scheduled to follow Ogasawara as part of his “start” day as well.

Right-hander Brandon Sproat, the Mets’ top prospect, starts on the mound for the home team.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. NEW YORK METS
Where: Clover Park, Port St. Lucie
Gametime: 1:10 p.m. EDT
TV: MLB.tv (Mets’ feed)
Radio: MLB.com (Mets’ feed)
Weather: Sunny, 75 degrees, wind 9 mph in from right field

NATIONALS
DH James Wood
2B Amed Rosario
3B José Tena
C Keibert Ruiz
RF Alex Call
CF Robert Hassell III
1B Juan Yepez
LF Andrew Pinckney
SS Nasim Nuñez

LHP Shinnosuke Ogasawara

METS
SS Francisco Lindor
RF Juan Soto
1B Pete Alonso
LF Brandon Nimmo
3B Mark Vientos
C Luis Torrens
CF Tyrone Taylor
DH Jared Young
2B Luisangel Acuña

RHP Brandon Sproat