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The Washington Nationals lost another game in the 9th inning, and that is only somewhat acceptable as these late Spring Training games are a battle of minor league players. Manager Dave Martinez welcomes James Wood into the lineup for the first time this year in the outfield.

In case you missed it, Wood was recovering from minor quadricep tendinitis. Also, Luis Garcia Jr. returns to the lineup after an illness.

The Washington Nationals had another day-off yesterday that manager Dave Martinez said that was a true day-off, and we heard that the gates were locked to the team’s complex at the CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches. By the looks of it on social media, there was a lot of boating, golf, and video games being enjoyed by the players.

Of course there was huge breaking news on the MASN contract ending at the conclusion of this season, and that most likely the Nationals will have a new stadium name sponsor and jersey patch that they will unveil this summer per Chief Revenue Officer, Mike Carney, of the Nationals. Chief. Revenue. Officer. We love revenue enhancement when that turns into money to spend on players.

The Washington Nationals split their doubleheader yesterday to get to 4-4 on their Grapefruit League record. They have a game early this afternoon followed by another day-off tomorrow that manager Dave Martinez said that is a true day-off, and he is not planning on heading to the team’s complex at the CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches.

Yesterday’s games got in the work for both MacKenzie Gore and Michael Soroka — both throwing three innings of zeroes. Trevor Williams gets the start today, and we will see how far he pitches today as we are 3½ weeks to Opening Day.

The Washington Nationals were scheduled for a split-squad afternoon/evening doubleheader that started for the team in Jupiter, Florida against the St. Louis Cardinals. The Nats lost in the 9th inning by a final score of 3-2.

This evening game features several starters with MacKenzie Gore making his Spring Training debut. He had been pitching in unofficial outings to ramp up to at least two innings today. Michael Soroka had been doing the same, and he pitched the first game today and went three hitless innings and exited with a 2-0 lead thanks to a Josh Bell 2-run homer.

The Washington Nationals have a split-squad afternoon/evening doubleheader that starts for the team in Jupiter, Florida against the St. Louis Cardinals. This game features five free agent signings who are all expected to making the roster: Nathaniel Lowe, Michael Soroka, Josh Bell, Amed Rosario and Paul DeJong. And it is Soroka who makes his first start of Spring Training.

With the aforementioned starters are only two players from last year’s roster with Jacob Young and Trey Lipscomb. A top prospects gets a chance to start as the team is challenging Robert Hassell III to play well as a starter against a true MLB pitcher as the Cardinals go with Miles Mikolas.

It almost seems unfair for Shinnosuke Ogasawara‘s second game of Spring Training to face Juan Soto, Francisco Lindor, Pete Alonso, Brandon Nimmo, and Mark Vientos. And yes, James Wood is back in the lineup after nursing the mild tendonitis in his quadricep. He will DH and leadoff in a lineup that looks like a mix of starters, bench players, and prospects. All eyes on Wood and the red-hot smoldering Robert Hassell III who has done this so far: Batting .571 (8-14), 3 doubles, 1 HR, 5 RBIs, 1 SB, and a 1.571 OPS.

Coincidentally, Soto was traded for Wood and Hassell as part of that blockbuster trade that sent Soto and Josh Bell to San Diego for Wood, Hassell, CJ Abrams, MacKenzie Gore, and Jarlin Susana.