Strasburg, regulars take on Yankees in the twilight

By Mark Zuckerman

Nationals

March 23, 2016, 9:36am

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VIERA, Fla. - Rested and refreshed from their only day off this spring, the Nationals are back at it later this afternoon, hosting the ... well, it's not quite the New York Yankees, though it's still better than the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees. Masahiro Tanaka made the long trip over from Tampa to start this game. Brett Gardner is here, as well. But that's it as far as projected members of their everyday lineup.

The Nationals, on the other hand, have Stephen Strasburg on the mound and a whole bunch of regulars in the lineup, as they typically do for home games. Strasburg is scheduled to go five innings, with Sean Burnett, Oliver Perez (just back from helping Mexico qualify for next year's World Baseball Classic), Matt Belisle and Jonathan Papelbon expected to pitch out of the bullpen.

Be sure to tune into today's game on MASN. And definitely be sure to tune in for the eighth inning, when I make my long-awaited, rain-postponed debut in the booth with Bob and F.P. I expect a ratings spike, folks!

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. NEW YORK YANKEES
Where: Space Coast Stadium, Viera, Fla.
Gametime: 5:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB Network (outside D.C. market), MLB.tv
Radio: None
Weather: Partly cloudy, 75 degrees, wind 13 mph in from left field

NATIONALS
CF Ben Revere
3B Anthony Rendon
RF Bryce Harper
1B Ryan Zimmerman
LF Jayson Werth
DH Chris Heisey
C Wilson Ramos
SS Brendan Ryan
2B Stephen Drew

RHP Stephen Strasburg

YANKEES
LF Brett Gardner
CF Aaron Hicks
2B Dustin Ackley
C Austin Romine
1B Chris Parmelee
DH Gary Sanchez
3B Rob Refsnyder
RF Chris Denorfia
SS Ronald Torreyes

RHP Masahiro Tanaka