The Home for Washington Nationals Game Talk

Eric Thames is back; Photo by Craig Nedrow for TalkNats

The Washington Nationals are in split-squad action today in a home game at the FITTEAM against the Marlins with Joe Ross on the mound as well as a road game at Clover Park versus the Mets with Austin Voth on the mound. These simultaneously played games will both begin shortly after 1 pm and will also feature the return of Eric Thames and Victor Robles as each had been nursing injuries. Each will bat as a designated hitter (DH) to start in each respective game. The road game starting infield will feature Carter Kieboom at third base, Trea Turner at shortstop, Starlin Castro at second base and Ryan Zimmerman at first base while the home game has an outfield of Juan Soto, Michael Taylor and JB Shuck with Asdrubal Cabrera at third base in that game, Wilmer Difo getting another start at shortstop, Howie Kendrick at first base, and the 19-year-old top prospect Luis Garcia at second base. It is Garcia who leads the starters with a .438 batting average so far this spring.  Continue reading →

Starlin Castro is hitless in Spring Training; Photo by Katie Moran for TalkNats

In today’s starting lineup for the Nats, there are zero home runs in Spring Training combined from this group. In total, the Nats have five home runs for the entire Spring. In comparison, the Cardinals feasted on the Nats last night and have twenty-two bombs so far this Spring. It isn’t the weather, stadium conditions, or geography, however, you cannot pinpoint what has happened to the Nats bats this spring. Fortunately these games do not count. Starlin Castro’s .000 batting average means nothing in regards to his regular season just like Emilio Bonifacio‘s .353. But if you want to hear the funniest part, the Nats are not the worst offensive team — the Atlanta Braves are with a team worst .654 OPS coming into today’s games.  Continue reading →

Photo by Craig Nedrow for TalkNats

The Nats call on their lefty, Patrick Corbin, who is set to make his second Spring Training start this evening against those same St. Louis Cardinals he faced over the weekend. This time, Corbin will be on his own mound at the FITTEAM Ballpark of the Palm Beaches.  Continue reading →

Photo by Craig Nedrow for TalkNats

The Spring Training schedule has matched up the Washington Nationals with some AL East opponents already, and now it is the Baltimore Orioles turn to face the Nats. Back home in the Mid-Atlantic, these two teams are linked by geography, a regional sports network (MASN), and decades of animosity. Even before the Washington Nationals came to existence, the Orioles owner, Peter Angelos, was wrangling to make sure no team made it back into Washington, D.C. unless he was handsomely compensated. The list of concessions that MLB made to Angelos to allow the Montreal Expos to relocate to D.C. were mind-blowing. Not only was Angelos handed the majority ownership to MASN, but he also got seed money to do it. If you have time, read what Baltimore journalist and former O’s beat writer Nestor Aparicio has written in the past on the subject. While the owners are still entrenched in a lawsuit, the players on the field have been insulated by much of the legal fracas. The Nationals do not have the money they want from the MASN annual rights fees, and you have to wonder when that will be resolved after they have been fighting in the courts since 2011 on the annual rights fees.  Continue reading →

Photo by Sol Tucker for TalkNats

As expected, it will be Joe Ross starting in this game against the Marlins which lines him up as the fifth starter behind Anibal Sanchez in the ordering of the rotation. As it looks now, manager Dave Martinez has his starters lined up in the ordering of Max Scherzer to Stephen Strasburg to Patrick Corbin to Sanchez to Ross. There is no guarantee that Ross is the fifth starter, but the other spots are set. This is the second start for Ross while Austin Voth and Erick Fedde have entered games only after the starters exited which might point to what appears to be hinting that is Joe Ross’ spot to lose. With that said, Martinez is trying to stretch out both Voth and Fedde for the team’s starting rotation depth and has been pitching them in games with multiple innings of work.  Continue reading →

Photo by Andrew Lang for TalkNats

If it feels like the rotation is being set-up in an order of Max Scherzer to Stephen Strasburg to Patrick Corbin to Anibal Sanchez, you would be correct. That is the plan and the last guess is who will be the fifth starter in the rotation. Out of the gates, it looks like Joe Ross as he took the start this week against the Yankees while Austin Voth and Erick Fedde are entering games after the starters have reached their pitch counts. Fedde tried to go 3.0 innings in relief of Corbin yesterday but was pulled as he got in trouble with a high pitch count at 2 2/3 innings. Manager Dave Martinez is trying to stretch out both Voth and Fedde for obvious reasons as the team’s starting rotation depth.  Continue reading →

Photo by Andrew Lang for TalkNats

The Nats lone lefty starter, Patrick Corbin, is set to make his Spring Training debut today in Jupiter, Florida against the St. Louis Cardinals. Continue reading →