SARASOTA, Fla. – The Orioles will play the first of two scheduled split-squad game days today. Part of their roster will be at Ed Smith Stadium hosting the Tigers and part of the roster heads to North Port to play the Braves.

The Orioles (6-8-2) will also play two games on March 19, facing the Yankees and the Pirates.

Right-hander Kyle Gibson (0-0, 1.80 ERA), a possible O’s Opening Day starter, gets the home start in Sarasota versus the Tigers. Right-hander Spenser Watkins (0-0, 1.80 ERA) starts against the Braves.

O’s home lineup vs. Tigers
Austin Hays CF
Adley Rutschman DH
Ryan Mountcastle 1B
Gunnar Henderson SS
James McCann C
Adam Frazier 2B
Franchy Cordero LF
Nomar Mazara RF
Jordan Westburg 3B

Kyle Gibson RHP

JUPITER, Fla. – A very pleasant Sunday morning to you, wherever you may be. Hope you remembered to adjust your clocks last night. The Nationals certainly wish that wasn’t necessary after playing a 3-hour night game, then losing an hour of sleep before a 1:05 p.m. game on tap today. Brilliant scheduling there.

Davey Martinez let the boys report later than usual this morning, so hopefully everyone’s well rested. MacKenzie Gore should be just fine, because he didn’t have to stick around for the entire game last night in advance of his start. The left-hander takes the mound for the fourth time this spring, the third time at Roger Dean Stadium, the second time to face the Cardinals. He wasn’t thrilled with his last outing, when he allowed two runs (one earned) over three innings. He’ll try to make some improvements today and extend to four innings.

Gore won’t be facing a whole lot of familiar names this afternoon, with the Cardinals sending a bunch of backups and prospects out there. They will, however, have a veteran on the mound in Steven Matz, so we’ll see how the Nats handle him.

You can listen to Charlie Slowes and Dave Jageler with the radio call of the game on 106.7 FM. Or if you’re an MLB.tv subscriber, you can watch the Cardinals’ television broadcast live. Or you can wait until 10 p.m. EDT and watch the replay on MLB Network.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. ST. LOUIS CARDINALS
Where: Roger Dean Stadium, Jupiter
Gametime: 1:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MLB.tv (Cardinals broadcast), MLB Network (delayed at 10 p.m.)
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Mostly sunny, 84 degrees, wind 9 mph out to left field

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – It’s a big day here at The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches. At least, big by spring training standards. The Nationals are set to hold a 3 p.m. press conference to announce their eight-year, $50 million extension with Keibert Ruiz (which, by the way, also includes club options for both 2031 and 2032). Then they’re set to take the field at 7:05 p.m. to face the Mets, live on MASN.

Ruiz will have the honor of batting cleanup tonight, and he and his teammates will be facing Kodai Senga for the first time. Senga, a 30-year-old right-hander from Japan, signed a five-year, $75 million deal with the Mets this winter and will be slotted into a rotation that includes a couple of future Hall of Famers in Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander. This is only Senga’s second start of the spring; he allowed one run to the Cardinals in two innings on Sunday.

(UPDATE: Well, so much for that. The Mets announced Senga has been scratched from the start due to "discomfort at the base of his right index finger." John Curtiss will now start tonight's game in his place.)

Josiah Gray gets the ball for the Nats for his third start of the spring, his second against the Mets. The right-hander is slated to go four innings.

As stated, you can watch tonight’s game live on MASN, with Bob Carpenter and Dan Kolko on the call. They’ll have interviews with a host of big names (Mike Rizzo, Davey Martinez, Ruiz), plus one very small name (yours truly). Coverage begins at 7 p.m.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Spring training night games are usually pretty rare, but this spring is different. The Nationals have eight of them scheduled, including a stretch of three in a row that continues tonight against the Marlins.

Patrick Corbin gets the ball for his third start of the spring. The lefty gave up runs in each of his first two outings, serving up two homers to the Cardinals in his debut and then two more runs to the Astros five days ago. Obviously, stats aren’t important this time of year. But it would be nice to see Corbin offer up three clean innings for a change, right?

With most regulars having played Thursday night and likely scheduled to play again Saturday night, there aren’t as many in Davey Martinez’s lineup for this one. Keibert Ruiz does, however, get a chance to get some at-bats as the designated hitter without having to squat behind the plate. We’ll also get a look at several of the remaining candidates for bench spots, including Alex Call, Stone Garrett, Michael Chavis and Jeter Downs.

A couple of big league relievers are on the pitching docket as well, with Kyle Finnegan and Carl Edwards Jr. slated for one inning a piece.

Charlie Slowes and Dave Jageler are back in town, so you can hear their call of the game on 106.7 FM.

SARASOTA, Fla. – Terrin Vavra has recovered from the discomfort in his left shoulder and is starting at third base tonight against the Twins at Ed Smith Stadium.

Vavra is 6-for-11 with a double, triple and home run as he fights for a spot on the bench. He was supposed to start in left field the day that he was scratched.

Ryan McKenna gets another start in center field with Cedric Mullins away from camp and playing for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic. Kyle Stowers is in right field and Austin Hays is in left.

Adam Frazier is leading off as the second baseman. James McCann is catching Kyle Bradish, who’s allowed one run and two hits in five innings over two spring starts.

Joe Ryan is starting for the Twins.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Shalom … er, hello from The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches, where tonight the Nationals take a break from official Grapefruit League play to face Team Israel in a tune-up for the upcoming World Baseball Classic!

It won’t just be the opponent that looks different tonight. The rules will be different as well. As in, the old rules. No pitch clock. Shifting allowed. Smaller bases. And yet, none of the stats actually count for official MLB purposes. Oh, also there may be a Nationals pitcher or two actually pitching for the opponents later in the game because the Israelis are trying to save some arms for the WBC. You’ve been warned.

The Nats will have an intriguing combination of regulars and top-end prospects taking the field tonight. Cade Cavalli makes his first actual start of the spring after two relief appearances. While there’s only so much to glean from how he performs against this particular lineup, it’s still important to see the young right-hander complete three solid innings with no real issues.

Cavalli will have mostly big leaguers behind him in the field, but he’ll also have the organization’s No. 1 prospect: James Wood, who gets his first start in center field (perhaps a ramification of the knee injury Victor Robles sustained yesterday against the Tigers. Stay tuned, as we hope to have an update on him. Other prospects expected to play the second half of this game include Brady House and Elijah Green.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. ISRAEL
Where: The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches
Gametime: 6:05 p.m. EST
TV: None
Radio: None
Weather: Clear, 74 degrees, wind 10 mph in from right field

CLEARWATER, Fla. – Gunnar Henderson is leading off today against the Phillies in Clearwater.

Adley Rutschman is catching Tyler Wells, who’s making his second spring start.

Josh Lester is starting at third base after collecting three hits in Fort Myers. Kyle Stowers is in left field, Ryan O’Hearn is playing first base and batting cleanup, and Jordan Westburg is the second baseman.

Franchy Cordero is playing right field.

Also listed as available pitchers today are Bruce Zimmermann, Joey Krehbiel, Andrew Politi and Eduard Bazardo.

LAKELAND, Fla. – It’s the last long trip of spring training and the Nationals have to be thrilled to no longer come to this side of Florida. The team bus left the complex in West Palm Beach at 6:45 a.m. to embark on the three-hour drive to Lakeland to face the Tigers this afternoon.

Needless to say, not a lot of major leaguers made the trip, with Lane Thomas, Victor Robles and Keibert Ruiz being the only regular starters in the lineup. The Nats didn’t even bring a true starting pitcher, instead using reliever Chad Kuhl to open what will essentially be a bullpen game.

Without too many regulars, an opportunity could open up for top prospects James Wood, Daylen Lile and Jackson Rutledge, who got the privilege of coming along for the seven-hour round trip. At least Rutledge is expected to get in the game at some point.

Old friend César Hernández is in the Tigers lineup as the second baseman batting sixth.

Today is the last game of my spring training trip for this year, as I fly home out of Orlando tonight. Mark Zuckerman will be back in West Palm Beach tomorrow morning for the Nats’ night exhibition game against Team Israel and the rest of camp.

JUPITER, Fla. – We’re back to baseball after yesterday’s off-day, the last of Nationals spring training before the team breaks camp at the end of the month.

Things are going to start ramping up here soon. Starting pitchers and regular position players will play deeper into games. And the team announced its first round of cuts this morning.

MacKenzie Gore will be the first Nats starter to make his third appearance of spring training. The young lefty is expected to go three innings and throw about 50 pitches. Depending on his pitch count, he may go into the fourth to get an extra up-down.

The relievers following Gore out of the bullpen will be Alex Colomé, Carl Edwards Jr., Kyle Finnegan and Erasmo Ramirez, among others.

The Nats lineup includes regulars CJ Abrams, Lane Thomas, Corey Dickerson, Dominic Smith, Luis García and Victor Robles. Ildemaro Vargas, Riley Adams and Matt Adams are also in the starting lineup.

FORT MYERS, Fla. – John Means is getting back to baseball normal.

Means threw his first half-mound session yesterday morning in Sarasota, tossing 20 fastballs with no discomfort in his surgically repaired left elbow. He’ll do it again Wednesday and progress to a full mound Friday morning.

“Felt great, felt awesome,” Means said. “Kind of felt like a baseball player again yesterday. Got some dirt on my cleats, so it was great. Everything felt good.”

Means said he threw with 50 percent intensity and will gradually increase it.

“Just feeling the slope again,” he said.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Today is the first of three times this spring the Nationals enjoy the benefit of sharing the complex at The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches with the Astros. Although technically the “away” team, the Nats don’t have to travel anywhere. They just show up to their side of the complex like normal and prepare for a game in their home stadium.

Patrick Corbin will make his second start of the spring, and since he showed up to camp early and is a little further along than the other starters, he’s expected to go a little deeper in the game. He threw 22 pitches in 1 ⅔ innings on Tuesday, so he might pitch into the third inning and get over 40 pitches this afternoon.

The relievers following the lefty out of the bullpen will be Thaddeus Ward, Paolo Espino, Hunter Harvey and Mason Thompson, among others.

The Nats lineup includes regulars Luis García, Joey Meneses, Dominic Smith, Jeimer Candelario and Keibert Ruiz. Notable backups include Ildemaro Vargas, Jake Alu, Riley Adams and Matt Adams.

Israel Pineda is not included among the backup catchers after getting hit by a pitch in the hand during yesterday’s game. Drew Millas and Brady Lindsly are listed behind Ruiz and Riley Adams.

The game will be broadcast on 106.7 The Fan back in the D.C. area.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. HOUSTON ASTROS
Where: The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches, West Palm Beach
Gametime: 1:05 p.m. EST
TV: None
Radio: 106.7 The Fan
Weather: Sunny, 86 degrees, wind 8 mph in from center field

NATIONALS
CF Alex Call
2B Luis García
1B Joey Meneses
DH Dominic Smith
3B Jeimer Candelario
C Keibert Ruiz
RF Stone Garrett
LF Yadiel Hernandez
SS Jeter Downs

LHP Patrick Corbin

ASTROS
2B Jose Altuve
SS Jeremy Peña
C Martín Maldonado
3B Alex Bregman
RF Kyle Tucker
1B José Abreu
LF David Hensley
DH Bligh Madris
CF Jacob Melton

RHP Luis Garcia

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The Orioles took the bus to Tropicana Field today for their game against the Rays, and the top of the lineup has Cedric Mullins in center field and Anthony Santander in right.

Mullins leaves Monday morning for the World Baseball Classic. Santander will be in Monday’s lineup before departing.

Gunnar Henderson is batting fourth as the designated hitter. Jordan Westburg is at the bottom of the order and playing third base.

Nomar Mazara gets the start in left field. James McCann is catching Kyle Bradish.

Heston Kjerstad, Jackson Holliday, Joey Ortiz, Connor Norby, Coby Mayo and César Prieto also had their bags packed for the trip.

For the Orioles
Cedric Mullins CF
Anthony Santander RF
Ryan Mountcastle 1B
Gunnar Henderson DH
Ramón Urías 2B
Nomar Mazara LF
James McCann C
Jorge Mateo SS
Jordan Westburg 3B

Kyle Bradish RHP

For the Rays
Vidal Bruján DH
Wander Franco SS
Randy Arozarena LF
Jonathan Aranda 1B
Harold Ramírez RF
Francisco Mejía C
José Siri CF
Isaac Paredes 3B
Daniel Robertson 2B

Yonny Cirinos RHP

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The Nationals get to play their next two games on their home field, starting with this afternoon’s matchup with the Cardinals.

Josiah Gray and Cade Cavalli are both expected to make their second spring appearances today at The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches. Gray will start the game and Cavalli will follow out of the bullpen, with both expected to go about two innings and throw around 35-40 pitches.

The Nationals lineup includes a lot of regulars, with CJ Abrams, Lane Thomas, Corey Dickerson, Joey Meneses, Dominic Smith, Jeimer Candelario, Keibert Ruiz and Victor Robles starting today. Jake Alu is the only starter who is battling for a spot this spring.

The game can be heard on 106.7 The Fan back in the D.C. area.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. ST. LOUIS CARDINALS
Where: The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches, West Palm Beach
Gametime: 1:05 p.m. EST
TV: None
Radio: 106.7 The Fan
Weather: Partly cloudy, 89 degrees, wind 11 mph out to right-center field

NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
RF Lane Thomas
LF Corey Dickerson
DH Joey Meneses
1B Dominic Smith
DH Jeimer Candelario
C Keibert Ruiz
2B Jake Alu
CF Victor Robles

RHP Josiah Gray

CARDINALS
3B Brendon Donovan
LF Jordan Walker
2B Nolan Gorman
C Wilson Contreras
1B Juan Yepez
DH Paul DeJong
RF Moisés Gómez
SS Juniel Querecuto
CF Mike Antico

LHP Connor Thomas

SARASOTA, Fla. – Tyler Wells makes his spring debut this afternoon against the Braves, with Adley Rutschman setting the target for him.

Rutschman is batting second, followed by third baseman Gunnar Henderson, right fielder Kyle Stowers and second baseman Jordan Westburg.

Joey Ortiz is starting at shortstop and batting ninth.

Terrin Vavra is leading off and playing left field. Ryan McKenna is the center fielder.

This is a split-squad game for the Braves, who are starting National League Rookie of the Year runner-up Spencer Strider.

SARASOTA, Fla. – Anthony Santander is starting in left field for tonight’s home game against the Pirates.

Santander also will play Sunday and Monday before driving to Miami for the World Baseball Classic.

Cedric Mullins is making his penultimate appearance before flying to Arizona to join Team USA. He’s in center field tonight and also will play Sunday.

Austin Hays is the designated hitter, James McCann is catching and Nomar Mazara is in right field.

Kyle Gibson makes his Orioles debut.

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. – After Wednesday's eight-hour round trip to Tampa, the 45-minute ride up to Port St. Lucie today doesn’t seem all too bad for the Nationals. They were able to arrive at their home complex at a normal time, receive treatment and maybe get in some early work before boarding the bus to go play the Mets.

Trevor Williams, making his second start of the spring, gets his first crack at his former team this afternoon after appearing in 40 games in parts of the last two seasons with the Mets. Signed to a two-year, $13 million contract this offseason, the 30-year-old right-hander tossed a scoreless first inning in his Nationals debut Sunday against the Astros.

The Nationals lineup, which includes regulars CJ Abrams, Luis García, Joey Meneses, Jeimer Candelario and Victor Robles, will get another opportunity to face old friend Max Scherzer, who struck out five over two innings on Sunday.

Scheduled to follow Williams out of the bullpen are Victor Arano, Kyle Finnegan, Carl Edwards Jr., Joan Adon and Jake Irvin.

Update: The game will be nationally broadcast on MLB Network, and not blacked out back in the D.C. area. If you happen to be in New York, the Mets feed will also be on SNY. The Nats radio broadcast can also be heard on Nationals.com.

LAKELAND, Fla. – Adley Rutschman is catching Grayson Rodriguez for today’s game against the Tigers in Lakeland.

Does anything else matter?

Well, Gunnar Henderson is batting third and playing shortstop. Jordan Westburg is the third baseman. Connor Norby is the designated hitter.

Another day that’s rich in prospects.

Terrin Vavra is starting at second base and Kyle Stowers is the left fielder.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – After making the 3 1/2-hour trek to Tampa yesterday for what resulted in a 4-2 walk-off loss to the Yankees, the Nationals return to Florida’s Atlantic side for the first of their next five games taking place in the greater West Palm Beach area.

Those in attendance today at The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches will get their first look at MacKenzie Gore in a Nats home uniform after he made his debut on Saturday against the Cardinals in Jupiter. The young southpaw allowed just one hit with one strikeout and threw 18 pitches (13 strikes) to four batters in a scoreless inning that afternoon. Today, he’ll go a little deeper into the game, pitching multiple innings for the first time.

They’ll also get the first look at Carter Kieboom in live game action in about a year since needing Tommy John surgery. He’s batting ninth as the designated hitter.

The Nationals have a handful of regulars in today’s lineup, including Lane Thomas, Corey Dickerson, Jeimer Candelario, Dominic Smith, Keibert Ruiz and Victor Robles. The relievers expected to follow Gore out of the bullpen include Paolo Espino, Thaddeus Ward, Mason Thompson and Hunter Harvey.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. MIAMI MARLINS
Where: The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches, West Palm Beach
Gametime: 1:05 p.m. EST
TV: None
Radio: MLB.com (Marlins broadcast)
Weather: Sunny, 84 degrees, wind 12 mph out to left field

TAMPA – The Nationals’ spring relocation from remote Viera to centrally located West Palm Beach six years ago cut their travel down to a fraction of what it used to be. Most of their road games now are played on site against the Astros or 15 minutes away in Jupiter, with a few 45-minute trips to Port St. Lucie thrown in.

There are, however, still two long trips on the Grapefruit League schedule this year. And the longest of them has come today, with the Nats making the 3 1/2-hour trek to the opposite side of the state to face the Yankees.

Given that, you can imagine Davey Martinez wasn’t going to make most of his regulars ride the bus for a seven-hour round trip. So today’s lineup features only a handful of regulars (most of them young and/or inexperienced). It also doesn’t include a member of the projected Opening Day rotation. Instead, it’s Cory Abbott (whose best chance of making the team is as a long reliever) taking the mound to face the Bronx Bombers.

There are some kids from minor league camp who were promoted for the day and given the opportunity make this trip, though, headlined by the organization’s new No. 1 prospect: Outfielder James Wood. Stay tuned for the later innings to see if he gets an at-bat.

Today’s game is being broadcast nationally on ESPN. It’s Kevin Brown, Jessica Mendoza and the great Tim Kurkjian on the call. It’s also the last game of my first stint down here this spring. Bobby Blanco has arrived in West Palm Beach and will take the beat writer reins for the next week, so be sure to follow him and read his work until I return on March 9.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – It’s another warm, windy day here in South Florida, where a refreshed Nationals club returns from one of only two days off this spring to face the Cardinals at The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches.

Patrick Corbin makes his first start of 2023, the last pitcher from the projected Opening Day rotation to take the mound. Obviously, there are things Corbin needs to improve upon after an abysmal 2022 season. There’s only so much you can take away from the one inning he’s likely to throw today, but he will be facing some big-name St. Louis hitters, so it could be a good gauge of where the left-hander stands right now.

Davey Martinez has a good number of regulars in his lineup to face Cardinals lefty Matthew Liberatore. That includes the new trio of experienced position players added this winter, batting in order from the No. 2 through the No. 4 spots: Corey Dickerson, Jeimer Candelario and Dominic Smith.

We will also see a few key relievers make their spring debuts this afternoon, with Kyle Finnegan and Carl Edwards Jr. scheduled to appear.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. ST. LOUIS CARDINALS
Where: The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches, West Palm Beach
Gametime: 1:05 p.m. EST
TV: None
Radio: MLB.com (Cardinals broadcast)
Weather: Sunny, 86 degrees, wind 10 mph out to right field