Starting lineups: Nats vs. Astros in West Palm Beach

Starting lineups: Nats vs. Astros in West Palm Beach
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Yes, there's a ballgame being played tonight. At last. The Nationals host the Astros at their shared complex in the Grapefruit League opener for both teams, the first of six head-to-head matchups over the next month. They're going to get to know each other very well. There is a slight difference in the two teams' lineups for tonight's opener. A.J. Hinch doesn't have a whole lot of experience on his lineup card, though there are some top prospects in there. Davey...

Nats, pitch clock debut tonight in Grapefruit League opener

Nats, pitch clock debut tonight in Grapefruit League opener
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - It's been a long, hard winter in Washington, especially for anyone associated with a Nationals club that has eagerly been waiting to put last season's disappointment behind them and start over fresh in 2019. Well, there's some good news to share: The Nationals are playing a ballgame tonight. Against another major league team. With a 20-second pitch clock making its debut. More on that pitch clock in just a moment, but we'll begin with the Grapefruit League opener...

Nationals' 2019 spring training schedule released

Nationals' 2019 spring training schedule released
There are 4 1/2 weeks to go in the 2018 regular season, not to mention a month's worth of postseason games for those franchises fortunate enough to advance, but Major League Baseball has already unveiled the entire 2019 schedule, including spring training now. MLB released the Grapefruit League and Cactus League schedules this afternoon, far earlier than has been typical in previous years. It's perhaps appropriate, then, that the spring schedule will start and conclude early as well. With...

Starting lineups: Nats vs. Astros in West Palm Beach

Starting lineups: Nats vs. Astros in West Palm Beach
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - If you're stuck indoors all day because of the snow back home, you're in luck: Tune into MASN at 1 p.m. and watch the Nationals face the Astros on a sunny, 73-degree afternoon in Florida! (Sorry if that sounds like I'm trying to rub it in. I'm not.) The whole crew is back in town for the next few days and will have the broadcast of this matchup. It'll be your first chance to see Adam Eaton with your own eyes. It's Eaton's third Grapefruit League game, and he's...

Starting lineups: Nats vs. Astros in West Palm Beach

Starting lineups: Nats vs. Astros in West Palm Beach
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Would you believe we're now only two weeks away from opening day? It's true: A mere 14 days from now, the Nationals will be taking the field in Cincinnati for a game that actually counts in the standings. If you're looking for the Nats to field their full "A" lineup for the first time this spring, though, you're going to have to keep waiting. Adam Eaton, Michael A. Taylor and Ryan Zimmerman continue to get their at-bats in minor league games, and Daniel Murphy...

Verlander outdoes Strasburg in spring matchup (Nats win 8-1)

Verlander outdoes Strasburg in spring matchup (Nats win 8-1)
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - It lasted all of 2 1/2 innings, but at this time of the spring, we'll all take as much of a Stephen Strasburg-Justin Verlander pitching matchup as we can get. The two right-handers didn't disappoint in their head-to-head showdown today at FITTEAM Ballpark of the Palm Beaches. Strasburg allowed one run over two innings but consistently hit 97-98 mph with his fastball. Verlander, meanwhile, tossed three scoreless innings and struck out five before calling it a...

Starting lineups: Nats vs. Astros in West Palm Beach

Starting lineups: Nats vs. Astros in West Palm Beach
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - I know none of you up north want to hear about the weather down here right now, but it has cooled off considerably across Florida, with the same cold front that has caused so much havoc back home swooping through this state as well. The wind has picked up and the temperatures have dropped - I know, I know, it's still going to be 75 degrees this afternoon - for the first time all spring. With the wind blowing in, it should be a good day to be a pitcher. Not that either...

Milone sets tone with solid spring debut (Nats lose 3-2)

Milone sets tone with solid spring debut (Nats lose 3-2)
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Tommy Milone would need a lot of things - bad things, from the Nationals' perspective - to happen to find his way into the opening day rotation. But a few more outings like he offered up today and the journeyman left-hander, if nothing else, will have made a strong impression on the club's decision-makers, which could pay off down the road. Handed the ball to start today's Grapefruit League opener, Milone set the tone with a solid two-inning performance that was as...

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

Starting lineups: Nats vs. Astros in West Palm Beach (updated)
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - No, it doesn't count. No, it won't feature many recognizable names. But you know what? It's still a baseball game and it's going to be played today. Yes, the Grapefruit League has arrived, and not a moment too soon for fans who have patiently waited since October for the Nationals to take the field once again. Today's exhibition opener will be played in the Nats' home ballpark but it won't be a Nats home game. The World Series champion Astros get to play host for...

Nats, Astros strike naming rights deal for spring ballpark

Nats, Astros strike naming rights deal for spring ballpark
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - The Nationals' spring training stadium, barely a year old, is already getting a new name. The Nationals and Astros are planning to announce next week a naming rights deal for The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches with FITTEAM, a local "healthy lifestyle company," sources familiar with the decision confirmed. The new name for the stadium: FITTEAM Ballpark of the Palm Beaches. The announcement of a reported 12-year deal between FITTEAM and both franchises that share the...

Late flight, quick turnaround force lineup changes (Nats lose 4-2)

Late flight, quick turnaround force lineup changes (Nats lose 4-2)
It was 4:20 p.m., 2 hours and 45 minutes away from first pitch, and Dusty Baker was still in street clothes. A decent number of Baker's players had yet to arrive in the clubhouse, with reporting time pushed all the way back to 4:45 p.m., much later than normal. Batting practice? That was canceled. Such were the accommodations the Nationals had to make after a 4:30 a.m. arrival from Houston following Thursday night's game, with the opener of this weekend's series against the Mets looming at...

González endures first rough start of the spring (Nats lose 5-1)

González endures first rough start of the spring (Nats lose 5-1)
NATIONALS QUICK WRAP Score: Astros 5, Nats 1 Recap: Gio González struggled through his worst start in an otherwise fantastic spring, allowing five runs in five innings, including a pair of home runs. The left-hander entered with a 1.10 ERA but departed with that number having jumped to 2.95. The Nationals managed only one run off Astros starter Joe Musgrove, the product of Trea Turner's leadoff double in the first and Bryce Harper's sacrifice fly. Need to know: Matt Albers tossed two more...

Starting lineups: Nats vs. Astros in West Palm Beach

Starting lineups: Nats vs. Astros in West Palm Beach
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - The Nationals and Astros face each other for the second straight day, the only difference that the Nats are wearing white pants this time while the Astros wear gray. Such are the perks of the shared spring training complex, all that differentiates road games from home games are the color of slacks. Gio González takes the mound for this one, looking to continue what has been a dominant spring to date. The lefty has a 1.10 ERA in five starts, having allowed only 12...

Roark, Murphy sharp in first game back (Nats win 4-1)

Roark, Murphy sharp in first game back (Nats win 4-1)
NATIONALS QUICK WRAP Score: Nationals 4, Astros 1 Recap: In his first start since returning from the World Baseball Classic, Tanner Roark was exceptionally sharp. The right-hander carried a shutout into the sixth inning before allowing back-to-back hits and departing with one run across the plate, having thrown 71 pitches. Daniel Murphy, his Team USA mate, went 2-for-4 with an RBI double in his first game back from the WBC. Ryan Zimmerman had two hits, a stolen base and a nifty move to elude a...

Starting lineups: Nats vs. Astros in West Palm Beach

Starting lineups: Nats vs. Astros in West Palm Beach
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - We haven't quite reached the home stretch of spring training, but we're getting closer. Starters are beginning to play more regularly and play more innings on a given day. Pitchers are being stretched out, cleared to go five innings and 75 pitches if they can get there. Beginning tomorrow, the Nationals won't even be using a designated hitter anymore, finally letting their pitchers hit. That's a shame for Joe Ross, though, because he probably enjoys hitting more than...

Cole still struggling to find consistency from start to start

Cole still struggling to find consistency from start to start
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - If everything goes according to the Nationals' plan, A.J. Cole won't be in their opening day rotation. But with Tanner Roark still pitching in the World Baseball Classic and Max Scherzer still avoiding Grapefruit League games while testing his new three-fingered fastball grip, Cole is going to continue getting starts against big league opponents. And what would the Nationals like to see from the 25-year-old right-hander in however many more starts he gets this...

Starting lineups: Nats vs. Astros in West Palm Beach

Starting lineups: Nats vs. Astros in West Palm Beach
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Hello again from The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches. It's good to be back after a little mid-spring trip home (complete with some unexpected snow shoveling). Thanks as always to Pete Kerzel for helping out in my absence. I'll be here through the remainder of camp, and things should start ramping up soon as the big decisions have to be made and the regulars start playing a lot more. Speaking of the regulars ... almost all of them are in the lineup for today's "road"...

Starting lineups: Nats vs. Astros in West Palm Beach

Starting lineups: Nats vs. Astros in West Palm Beach
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - The Nationals are on the road again today, this time facing the Astros, but surprisingly they've brought a bunch of big-name starters with them. Maybe that's because this road game is actually being played in their own home ballpark. Finally, everybody gets to reap the real benefits of a shared spring training complex. We'll be getting a look today at six regulars - Trea Turner, Adam Eaton, Daniel Murphy, Bryce Harper, Anthony Rendon and Jayson Werth - in a batting...

Guthrie impresses in ballpark opener (Nats walk off Astros 4-3)

Guthrie impresses in ballpark opener (Nats walk off Astros 4-3)
NATIONALS QUICK WRAP Score: Nationals 4, Astros 3 Recap: Michael A. Taylor threw out the potential go-ahead run from right field in the top of the ninth, with Jhonatan Solano blocking the plate and making a sweeping tag, then hit a two-out walk-off homer to left in the bottom of the inning for the win. ... The Nationals' first game at the brand-new Ballpark of the Palm Beaches began in style, with Jeremy Guthrie tossing two scoreless innings and Daniel Murphy and Bryce Harper hitting...

Starting lineups: Nats vs. Astros in Viera

Starting lineups: Nats vs. Astros in Viera
VIERA, Fla. - I really not to complain about the weather while in Florida, because I know it falls on deaf ears up north. But facts are facts, and the fact is, it's really cold here today. The Space Coast Stadium thermometer read 48 degrees when the Nationals emerged from the clubhouse to begin stretching around 10 a.m. It's going to warm up a bit by gametime, but there's also a 20 mph steady wind blowing from the northwest. Not exactly pristine conditions for spring training. OK, that's...