On González's struggle, Albers' zeros and Snyder's demotion

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Given how well he has pitched all spring, Gio González was entitled to one rough day. That's how Dusty Baker viewed the left-hander's uncharacteristically poor start this afternoon, in which he was roughed up by the Astros for five runs in five innings.

"It's hard to be good all the time in the spring," the Nationals manager said. "That was the first bad one he had."

González entered the day sporting a sparkling 1.10 ERA in four previous Grapefruit League starts, then watched that number skyrocket to 2.95 after he served up a pair of home runs in addition to four more hits.

The left-hander admitted his trouble came when he fell behind in the count to a good-hitting Houston lineup.

"Gotta get ahead in the count, especially with an American League team like this," he said. "They're very aggressive. If you fall in their count, they're going to do damage."

González did take one positive out of the start: He threw 91 pitches, most of any Nationals starter so far this spring, and an important total with only one more tune-up before he takes the mound in the regular season.

"That's the good thing about today: I actually got a little bit more pitch count, got it up a little bit," he said. "At this point, that's good. That's the first one of spring training. ... Ninety is nice, but then again if I would have gotten through six (innings) with 70, I'm not complaining, either."

* Matt Albers hasn't drawn much attention this spring, but maybe more eyes should have been focused on the big right-hander. He has, after all, thrown 11 2/3 scoreless innings, two of them coming this afternoon.

Albers, in camp on a minor league contract, is trying to squeeze his way into the opening day bullpen, most likely as a long reliever. That's not a role the Nationals are necessarily going to require on their 25-man roster, and even if they do, they'll have their choice of Albers, Vance Worley, Jeremy Guthrie or Jacob Turner.

Whether he makes the final cut or not, Albers feels like he's done everything he can to state his case. That said, he understands the situation.

"There's only been a few years in my career where I've had a guaranteed spot, so I kind of know how it goes," he said. "But the organization's great. Everybody here is first-class. I've enjoyed everything about it. There's a lot of competition, a lot of good arms. We'll just see what happens. I'm just trying to focus on doing my job on the mound. I know once the season starts, it's just the beginning. Hopefully I'll hear some good news, but I've tried to hold up my end of the bargain."

Consider Baker impressed with the 34-year-old.

"He throws strikes. He throws ground balls. He hasn't given up anything this spring," the manager said. "He's had an outstanding spring. We just gotta see how the numbers work out, which is always a chore at this time of the year."

* The Nationals made one roster move today, reassigning utilityman Brandon Snyder to minor league camp. Snyder was a long shot to make the club, but he made his case with a strong spring in which he hit .276 with three doubles and a triple while also playing six different positions (first base, second base, third base, left field, right field and catcher).

Baker said that Snyder, a Westfield High School alum who was the Orioles' first-round pick in 2005, will get to come north with the team and play in this weekend's exhibition games against the Red Sox. After that, he's expected to report to Triple-A Syracuse.

"He just thanked us for the opportunity he's gotten," Baker said. "He said he hasn't gotten these opportunities the last couple years. He opened our eyes on some things. I told him: 'Hey man, just be ready when we need you, and be productive.' "

Snyder's reassignment, along with Saturday's optioning of outfielder Brian Goodwin to Syracuse, essentially leaves the Nationals with two final decisions to make about their bench. They are likely to keep one backup first baseman, either Adam Lind (who has a guaranteed contract) or Clint Robinson (who is out of minor league options). And they are likely to keep either outfielder Michael A. Taylor or infielder Wilmer Difo (both have options).