Game #1 of 2018 Grapefruit League for the #Nats

Davey Martinez watches the 1st pitch of the Spring; Photo by Luis Albisu for TalkNats

Today is Opening Day of the Grapefruit League for 2018. Your Opening Day starter is Tommy Milone. The Nationals are the “road” team today in their home ballpark at the FITTEAM Ballpark of the Palm Beaches as they face the Houston Astros who get the honors for today.

This will also mark Dave Martinez‘s first game managed as the skipper of the Washington Nationals although there won’t be much we can learn from these early spring games. Just sit back and enjoy some spring baseball.

All the Nats starters will be resting today while the bench players and non-roster invitees along with the remaining 40-man roster players will get some limited action. The one interesting tidbit we got is that the Nationals want to give Howie Kendrick many looks at 2nd base which could signal that he will be a primary backup and perhaps the starter at 2nd base if Daniel Murphy is unable to play.

It is also a good idea to check back to Sao’s “Who the heck is that” guide for players on the spring roster.

Washington Nationals to be Featured on MLB Network’s Spring Training Series 30 Clubs in 30 Days Presented By Camping World on Friday, March 16

The Washington Nationals at Houston Astros Spring Training game today will be available live in the Washington D.C. television market on MLB Network at 1:00 p.m. ET. The complete schedule of MLB Network’s 2018 Spring Training game telecasts presented by Best Western Hotels & Resorts can be viewed here*, and the list of Nationals Spring Training games that will be available live in the Washington D.C. television market on MLB Network is listed below.

Date	Time	Away Team	Home Team
Friday, February 23	1:00 p.m. ET	Washington Nationals	Houston Astros
Monday, March 12	1:00 p.m. ET	Washington Nationals	Detroit Tigers
Sunday, March 25	1:00 p.m. ET	St. Louis Cardinals	Washington Nationals

This is the tenth season of MLB Network’s Spring Training series 30 Clubs in 30 Days presented by Camping World returns from today through Sunday, March 25, bringing viewers comprehensive coverage from camps across Arizona and Florida in daily installments on MLB Tonight and in content across MLB Network’s Facebook, Instagram and Twitter platforms.The Washington Nationals will be profiled on Friday, March 16 at 7:00 p.m. ET.

Washington Nationals vs. Houston Astros
Stadium: FITTEAM Ballpark of the Palm Beaches
1st Pitch: 1:05 pm EDT
TV: MLB Network, MLB.TV
Nats Radio: 1580 AM

Line-up subject to change (without notice):

Today at HOU: Goodwin CF, Difo SS, Adams 1B, Kendrick 2B, Gushue DH, Severino C, Raburn LF, Dominguez 3B, Bautista RF, Milone LHP

— TALK NATS ⚾ (@TalkNats2) February 23, 2018