PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. – Colton Cowser is playing left field and leading off this afternoon against Rays right-hander Naoyuki Uwasawa.

Jordan Westburg is playing third base. Heston Kjerstad is in right.

Jackson Holliday is starting at shortstop after playing in last night’s “Spring Breakout” game in Bradenton. Connor Norby, who also played last night, is the designated hitter today.

Dean Kremer is making is fourth start, with Albert Suárez on the trip to pitch in relief. Kremer has allowed five runs and 10 hits in eight innings, with three walks and eight strikeouts.

Coby Mayo is listed among the reserves. Among players coming over from the minor league side are outfielder Dontá Williams and infielders Anthony Servideo and TT Bowens.

BRADENTON, Fla. – The Orioles announced their lineup for tonight’s “Spring Breakout” game against the Pirates in Bradenton, the second half of a unique doubleheader.

The top two spots are occupied by the last two first-round draft picks – center fielder Enrique Bradfield Jr. and shortstop Jackson Holliday.

Samuel Basallo, who collected his first hit yesterday with a ninth inning single, is batting fifth as the designated hitter. He probably won’t be cleared to catch until late April due to a stress fracture in his right elbow.

Silas Ardoin is catching left-hander Cade Povich.

The first seven spots in the order are occupied by Top 30 prospects. Povich also counts at No. 10 per MLB Pipeline.

BRADENTON, Fla. – Cedric Mullins is in the lineup today for the first time since March 4, when he exited in the first inning with right hamstring discomfort.

Mullins is leading off. Gunnar Henderson is starting at shortstop and batting third.

Jorge Mateo is the second baseman. Kyle Stowers is in right field.

Tyler Nevin gets the start at first base.

Grayson Rodriguez is making his fourth start after allowing three runs and 10 hits in 7 1/3 innings. He’s walked five batters and struck out five.

SARASOTA, Fla. – Jordan Westburg gets another start at shortstop and is batting cleanup tonight against the Braves in Sarasota.

Westburg is making is third start at short, and also has played second and third base.

Kolten Wong is starting at third base for the second time this spring – and the second time in his professional career.

Colton Cowser is leading off as the designated hitter. Heston Kjerstad is in left field. Jackson Holliday is the second baseman.

Cole Irvin makes his third start. He hasn’t allowed a run in five innings.

JUPITER, Fla. – The Nationals have a quick turnaround from Tuesday night’s game against the Mets to this afternoon’s game against the Marlins. That might explain why there are so many kids in Davey Martinez’s lineup. (Most veterans aren’t going to be asked to play spring training day games after night games.)

The good news is that we get to see James Wood, Dylan Crews and Trey Lipscomb all in the same lineup. Lipscomb, who started at second base Tuesday night, moves to third base today. Crews, it should be noted, is mired in a bit of a funk at the plate. He’s 0 for his last 8 with one walk and six strikeouts. Wood, meanwhile, is 2 for his last 13 after beginning the spring 9-for-19.

Jake Irvin gets the start for the Nats, hoping to build off a strong outing his last time on the mound. The right-hander shut out the Mets over four innings last week, striking out five without walking anybody. He’s probably assured of a spot in the Opening Day rotation, but another start like that would probably seal the deal.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. MIAMI MARLINS
Where: Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium, Jupiter
Gametime: 1:10 p.m.
TV: None
Radio: 980 AM, MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 79 degrees, wind 8 mph right field to left field

NATIONALS
LF Jacob Young
RF James Wood
DH Jesse Winker
C Keibert Ruiz
2B Luis García Jr.
SS Ildemaro Vargas
3B Trey Lipscomb
CF Dylan Crews
1B Juan Yepez

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – We tend to think of spring training as a daytime exercise, with players reporting to the ballpark at the crack of dawn for workouts, playing a few innings in the early afternoon and then heading out early enough to play nine holes before sunset. But this final stretch of Nationals camp includes a ton of night games: Seven of them over the next 12 days (including three of the next four) to be precise.

Tonight the Nats host the Mets under the lights in West Palm Beach, with MacKenzie Gore on the mound. The left-hander makes only his third official start of the spring, his first in 11 days. (In between, he threw on a back field.) Gore should be good for at least four innings tonight, and he’ll be facing a Mets lineup that includes Brandon Nimmo, Pete Alonso and Starling Marte.

Most of the Nationals’ regulars are in the lineup, many of them playing for the second straight day. That includes Eddie Rosario, who after debuting as DH on Monday will start in left field tonight. Joey Meneses gets the nod at first base, with Joey Gallo assuming DH duties. Riley Adams, remarkably, is catching his first home game of the spring. And Trey Lipscomb gets a chance to start at second base surrounded by veterans, an interesting twist.

We’ll also see Matt Barnes coming out of the bullpen to make his Nationals debut, two weeks after he agreed to a minor league deal with the team.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. NEW YORK METS
Where: CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches, West Palm Beach
Gametime: 6:05 p.m. EST
TV: None
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 75 degrees, wind 10 mph in from right field

SARASOTA, Fla. – Jorge Mateo is playing center field for this afternoon’s game against the Rays at Ed Smith Stadium.

Colton Cowser is in right field and Austin Hays is in left.

Gunnar Henderson is leading off and playing shortstop, with Jordan Westburg at second base.

Jackson Holliday finally gets a break.

Adley Rutschman is catching Tyler Wells, who’s making his second Grapefruit League start. Wells tossed two scoreless innings with one hit allowed on March 1 against the Braves in North Port.

TAMPA, Fla. – Jackson Holliday is back on the road this afternoon, leading off and playing shortstop for a 1:05 p.m. game against the Yankees.

Kolten Wong is Holliday’s double play partner.

Anthony Santander homered twice yesterday in Dunedin and he’s back in gray pants today, batting third as the designated hitter.

Kyle Stowers is in left field and Heston Kjerstad is in right. Daniel Johnson is the center fielder.

The bench includes Coby Mayo, Connor Norby, Errol Robinson and Samuel Basallo, who could receive his first at-bats while recovering from a stress fracture in his right elbow.

JUPITER, Fla. – And we’re back! Yes, after a nice little break at home, I’ve returned to Florida for the remainder of spring training. My thanks to Bobby Blanco (who, inexplicably, is still at the airport in Fort Myers waiting to fly home) for a great week of coverage in my absence.

We’ve got some news on this Monday morning at Nationals camp. The team finally made its first round of cuts, optioning Joan Adon, Jake Alu, Cole Henry, DJ Herz, Mitchell Parker and Amos Willingham to Triple-A Rochester and reassigning Travis Blankenhorn to minor league camp. More on all that in a little while.

Today’s lineup, meanwhile, features Eddie Rosario making his Nats debut, though only as designated hitter for now. Joey Gallo returns to play the field for the first time since Feb. 28, when he hurt his left quadriceps muscle. The only projected regular not in there is Joey Meneses, so this may be the closest thing we’ve seen to an Opening Day lineup yet this spring.

Patrick Corbin gets the start, the left-hander’s fourth start of the spring, his third at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium, his second against the Cardinals. He’ll be opposed by veteran right-hander Miles Mikolas.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. ST. LOUIS CARDINALS
Where: Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium, Jupiter
Gametime: 1:05 p.m. EST
TV: MLB.tv (Cardinals feed)
Radio: nationals.com
Weather: Sunny, 75 degrees, wind 12 mph in from center field

FORT MYERS, Fla. – The Nationals made their last trip across the state this morning to play the Twins this afternoon.

A handful of regulars and a good number of prospects piled onto the team buses to make the three-hour trek to Fort Myers.

Victor Robles, Luis García Jr., Ildemaro Vargas and Riley Adams are among the major leaguers in the starting lineup. James Wood is back in right field and batting fifth.

Joan Adon makes his first start of the spring after coming out of the bullpen for his first two appearances. The right-hander was charged with five runs (three earned) in one inning against the Astros on Feb. 24. But he came back to pitch two scoreless innings with three strikeouts against Houston three days later.

Programming note: Today is my last day for this spring training, as I fly home to D.C. tonight after the game. Mark Zuckerman is flying back down to West Palm Beach this afternoon and will have coverage for the rest of camp. 

SARASOTA, Fla. – The Orioles didn’t put infielder Errol Robinson on their list of spring training invites. However, he’s got a locker in the main clubhouse at the Ed Smith Stadium complex and said he officially joined the group about a week ago.

Robinson, a native of Boyds, Md., is 5-for-11 with six walks. He signed a minor league deal in January.

Adding Robinson would increase the camp roster to 58 players.

Adley Rutschman is leading off today and serving as designated hitter for the split-squad game against the Blue Jays in Sarasota.

Ryan O’Hearn is in right field and Colton Cowser is starting in center. Kolten Wong is at second base.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Well, it’s going to be a long day for the Nationals at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches as they play a split doubleheader against the Astros and Marlins. The first game, a 12:05 p.m. start on MASN, will have the Nats as the road team before they are the home team for the nightcap at 6:05 p.m.

Dan Kolko and Kevin Frandsen will be on the call of the first game with coverage starting at noon.

Davey Martinez and the Nationals brass spent a good amount of time yesterday figuring out how they were going to fill out their lineup cards for the two games, keeping in mind they have an early bus for the three-hour ride to Fort Myers on Sunday morning.

The first lineup may leave a lot to be desired from the fans watching on MASN back home, who were hoping to see a lot of the top young prospects play on TV. A big name (figuratively and literally) they can look forward to seeing is James Wood, who is back in the lineup after getting an off day yesterday. He’ll play center field and bat third.

Lane Thomas, Victor Robles and Luis García Jr. are among the regulars playing the first game. Trevor Williams makes his second start after a strong first appearance Monday. Jordan Weems, Derek Law and Luis Perdomo may make appearances out of the bullpen.

SARASOTA, Fla. – The Orioles are home again tonight with a 6:05 p.m. game against the Tigers, and Grayson Rodriguez is making his third spring start.

Rodriguez has allowed two runs and four hits with three walks and four strikeouts over four innings.

Gunnar Henderson is leading off and playing shortstop. Jackson Holliday is batting ninth and playing second base.

Kolten Wong is getting the start at third base.

Heston Kjerstad is the left fielder. James McCann is catching.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The Nationals begin a long weekend tonight with a game against the Cardinals. They’ll turn right back around for a split doubleheader tomorrow at 12:05 p.m. against the Astros (on MASN) and 6:05 p.m. against the Marlins at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches. Then they’ll take an early three-hour bus ride across the state back to Fort Myers to face the Twins at 1 p.m. on Sunday.

Oh, and we’ll lose an hour of sleep Saturday night when daylight-saving time begins.

As for tonight’s matchup, Josiah Gray will make his third start of spring and look to build on his strong performances to date. He’s only been charged with one run, four hits and two walks while striking out 10 over his first two starts.

The Nats order is full of regulars and looks like what could potentially be an Opening Day starting lineup.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. ST. LOUIS CARDINALS
Where: CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches, West Palm Beach
Gametime: 6:05 p.m. EST
TV: None
Radio: MLB.tv (Cardinals’ feed)
Weather: Mostly cloudy, 78 degrees, wind 10 mph out to center field

NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
RF Lane Thomas
LF Jesse Winker
1B Joey Meneses
DH Joey Gallo
C Keibert Ruiz
3B Nick Senzel
2B Luis García Jr.
CF Jacob Young

RHP Josiah Gray

CARDINALS
CF Victor Scott II
RF Jordan Walker
2B Nolan Gorman
C Iván Herrera
DH Alec Burleson
1B Luken Baker
SS Thomas Saggese
3B José Fermín
LF Michael Siani

RHP Lance Lynn

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. – The Nationals and Mets will face off for the second time this spring and the first time at Clover Park, about 45 minutes north of CACTI Park.

Jake Irvin will make his first Grapefruit League start tonight after his first two outings came out of the bullpen. The right-hander struggled in those two appearances, giving up seven hits and eight runs (seven earned) in just 3 ⅔ innings. He’s hoping that getting back into his starting routine and utilizing his new cutter against left-handed hitters will get him back on track.

Today is also MacKenzie Gore’s scheduled day in the rotation. But he started a minor league game back in West Palm to allow Irvin to start against the Mets. Gore faced many of the top minor leaguers, including Elijah Green and Yohandy Morales, and did not hold back. According to manager Davey Martinez, he was pumping 97-98 mph with his fastball.

Joey Gallo is back in the lineup after being sidelined for almost a week with a tight left quadriceps muscle. He will serve as the designated hitter for the time being while the Nationals remain cautious with the veteran before putting him back in the field.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. NEW YORK METS
Where: Clover Park, Port St. Lucie
Gametime: 6:10 p.m. EST
TV: MLB.tv (Mets’ feed)
Radio: None
Weather: Partly cloudy, 74 degrees, wind 6 mph from right to left field

NATIONALS
RF Lane Thomas
CF James Wood
1B Joey Meneses
DH Joey Gallo
SS Ildemaro Vargas
3B Carter Kieboom
C Drew Millas
LF Jacob Young
2B Darren Baker

RHP Jake Irvin

METS
LF Brandon Nimmo
SS Francisco Lindor
RF Starling Marte
1B Pete Alonso
3B Brett Baty
C Francisco Alvarez
DH Mark Vientos
2B Joey Wendle
CF Harrison Bader

LHP Jose Quintana

SARASOTA, Fla. – Gunnar Henderson is leading off and playing shortstop tonight, as the Orioles are matched up again with the Pirates.

Adley Rutschman is catching Julio Teheran, who tossed a scoreless and hitless relief inning in his Orioles debut.

Ryan O’Hearn gets another start in the outfield, playing left with Austin Hays in center. Cedric Mullins remains out of the lineup with right hamstring soreness.

Jorge Mateo is playing second base. Kolten Wong is the designated hitter.

For the Orioles

JUPITER, Fla. – The Nationals and Marlins were supposed to play each other Sunday in West Palm Beach, but were rained out. So instead of the third time, this will only be the second time the National League East rivals will face off in Grapefruit League action, with both coming at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium.

Patrick Corbin makes his third spring training start after impressing in his last outing. The veteran left-hander cruised through three innings Thursday against the Cardinals in this very stadium. He needed only 41 pitches (32 strikes) to complete his day, which was highlighted by the increased use of his new cutter. We’ll see how often Corbin incorporates the pitch today against the Fish.

Kyle Finnegan, Hunter Harvey, Luis Perdomo and Derek Law are the relievers listed to make the trip.

The Nationals have a lot of regulars in the starting lineup facing Marlins lefty Jesús Luzardo. This lineup could be very similar to the one we see on Opening Day. James Wood, Robert Hassell III, Brady House and Trey Lipscomb are scheduled to come off the bench.

Unfortunately, the forecast is calling for thunderstorms all afternoon in the area, so the Nats and Marlins may be looking at their second rainout in four days.

SARASOTA, Fla. – Catcher Samuel Basallo, the No. 2 prospect in the Orioles’ system, expects to play in the Spring Breakout game on March 14 in Bradenton that features top prospects going head-to-head for seven innings.

Basallo would serve as the designated hitter because he doesn’t expect to be cleared to catch until late April “more or less” due to a stress fracture in his right elbow.

“I sure hope so,” he said this morning via interpreter Brandon Quinones, “and I think those are the plans as of right now.”

Basallo took live batting practice yesterday at Twin Lakes Park for the first time this spring. He’s been hitting against coaches.

“I felt really good and I feel really good overall,” he said. “I was just really happy that I was able to return and play again.”

WEST PALM BEACH – Let’s try this again, shall we?

After yesterday’s rainout against the Marlins, the Nationals return to CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches to face the other team from Jupiter: the Cardinals.

Trevor Williams’ spring debut was supposed to be yesterday, but the Nationals pushed it back to today after he reported to camp late after the birth of his fifth child and scheduled Zach Davies to start instead. This will be Williams’ first Grapefruit League appearance this spring as he attempts to hold onto his spot in the Nationals rotation.

With Davies, Jake Irvin, Jackson Rutledge and Joan Adon also fighting for the fourth and fifth spots and already removed from their spring debuts, Williams will have to impress every chance he gets in order to stick in the rotation. Otherwise, he could be headed to the bullpen as a swing man, which he did to mixed results with the Cubs and Mets from 2021-22.

Being that it’s his first outing, the right-hander will likely be limited to one or two innings and 20-30 pitches. Tanner Rainey, Richard Bleier, Robert Gsellman and Derek Law are among the pitchers listed to follow Williams out of the bullpen.

BRADENTON, Fla. – The Orioles will play the Pittsburg Pirates for the third time this spring when the teams meet this afternoon at LECOM Park. The Orioles blanked Pittsburgh last Sunday 2-0 in Bradenton on a combined three-hitter. They produced a 9-8 walk-off win over the Bucs on Thursday at Ed Smith Stadium.

The Orioles (8-1) have the best spring record of all 30 MLB clubs after Saturday’s 7-3 win over the Yankees. Austin Hays homered and drove in three runs and Kyle Stowers added a two-run shot.

Jorge Mateo leads off today and will play in center field for the first time this spring. He made two starts in center last season, playing 20 innings at that position. He has 94 career innings in center.

Jordan Westburg is at shortstop and batting third, Colton Cowser is in left field batting seventh and Jackson Holliday is back in the lineup, batting ninth at second base.

Right-hander Grayson Rodriguez gets today’s start. He went two innings versus Detroit on Tuesday allowing one hit and one run, on a homer to Zach McKinstry.