Nationals' lineup vs. Mets on Saturday

March 19, 2011 11:24 AM by Pete Kerzel View Comments

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. - Greetings from Digital Domain Park, where the Nationals will attempt to halt a five-game losing streak this afternoon against the Mets.

Driving down Interstate 95 today with WTOP's Craig Heist made me realize how much I miss games in Vero Beach, which housed Dodgertown before is Los Angeles-based namesakes bolted for a new complex in Arizona two spring ago.

Dodgertown remains, under the purview of Minor League Baseball, which owns and operates it as a facility for sports, recreations and company functions. Holman Stadium was the most enjoyable place to watch a Grapefruit League game, though it was seriously short on amenities (and let's not talk about the lack of dugouts, protective screens, etc.).

With Dodgertown - at least the Dodgertown I remember - gone, the Mets are the Nationals' closest neighbor on the east coast of Florida, a little over an hour away. That's one reason why the Nationals are considering moving out of Viera.

Anyway, enough reminiscing, here are the lineups for today's Nationals-Mets tilt:

For the Nationals:

CF - Jerry Hairston Jr.
2B - Danny Espinosa
SS - Ian Desmond
LF - Michael Morse
RF - Rick Ankiel
C - Ivan Rodriguez
3B - Brian Bixler
1B - Alberto Gonzalez
P - Jason Marquis

For the Mets:

SS - Jose Reyes
2B - Daniel Murphy
3B - David Wright
LF - Jason Bay
CF - Scott Hairston
RF - Lucas Duda
1B - Nick Evans
C - Josh Thole
P - Chris Capuano

Note that the brothers Hairston, who played on opposite sides when the Mets and Nats battled earlier this spring, are doing so again today. As an added twist, they're both playing center field.

When asked whether he had ever played against his brother and played the same position in the same game, Jerry Hairston Jr. said with a smile, "You know, I don't think so. Cool."

No truth to the rumor that the brothers will share the same glove, dropped in center field between innings.

Back later with some more Nationals news.