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. – Mike Rizzo spent the first half of his professional life roaming every corner of the United States and beyond in search of young baseball talent. He’s spent the second half of that professional life staying in one place, making Washington his home during his 18 years working for the Nationals, the last 15 as general manager.

Along the way, as he realized how much D.C. had become home to him and his family, Rizzo decided he wanted to give something back to the city he now lovingly calls home.

“I’m so humbled and grateful every day,” he said. “I was an area scout and grinded it out for a long time to appreciate where I’m at right now. I’ve been blessed in my career and in my life – I’ve made enough money where I can help out the less fortunate – and I married a woman who wanted to do the same thing. We kind of teamed this thing up to leave a mark. I think the city deserves for me to give something back to them, since they’ve given so much to me.”

Thus was The Rizzo Family Foundation – aka “Riz Kids” – born. A new nonprofit organization created by Mike and Jodi Rizzo, it intends to champion educational equity and invest in D.C. children and their families through community grants, college scholarships and opportunities to experience special baseball events.

The idea came to the Rizzos sometime in 2020, after Mike’s sister Kim died of ALS. The birth of the couple’s son, Sonny, last year helped further push them to create the foundation, which officially launched this week.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – An admitted perfectionist, MacKenzie Gore is the kind of guy who tends to get caught up with the things he didn’t do well on a particular night and forget about the things he did do well.

So it was appropriate to wonder tonight if the Nationals left-hander might be hung up on the ragged top of the fourth he experienced against the Mets instead of focusing on the top of the first, second, third, fifth and sixth innings, all of which went splendidly for him.

The good news: Gore was in a much better mood than you might have surmised based on his history.

“It was good,” he said. “Look, the stuff, we’re going in the right direction.”

Gore was quite good tonight, tossing 5 2/3 innings of one-run ball and setting the tone on a night the Nats pitching staff combined to two-hit the Mets in a 4-1 exhibition victory. He retired the first nine batters he faced on a scant 32 pitches. He became not only the first member of the staff to complete five innings this spring but re-took the mound for the top of the sixth because his pitch count was so low.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – With less than two weeks remaining in spring training, the two members of the Nationals’ projected lineup most in danger of losing their jobs got a muted vote of confidence from general manager Mike Rizzo, who nonetheless made it clear he needs to see more improvement from Luis García Jr. and Victor Robles.

García and Robles came to camp with an edict from club officials to show long-sought improvement, told they would be pushed by others in search of their starting jobs over the course of the spring. Each has enjoyed some success at the plate – García is 8-for-29 with two doubles and a homer, Robles is 6-for-18 with a homer and three walks – but each has come under some criticism following fundamental mistakes.

Asked about both García, 23, and Robles, 26, this afternoon, Rizzo expressed disappointment in those mistakes while also acknowledging their relative inexperience.

“I think they’re playing hard, they’re playing well,” Rizzo said. “We have to eliminate the mental lapses and the mental mistakes. But when you think about it, they’re both still young men chronologically. Although they seem like they’ve been here forever, they’re still young people. Luis is still 23 years old. If they didn’t have ability, obviously you wouldn’t be putting up with the mental mistakes that they make. But they have a lot of ability. They’ve shown it in the past at this level. We just have to get them over that, because that’s not helping the team.”

García in particular came under fire last week after committing errors on back-to-back plays, then getting picked off first base the following day.

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

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – In his first at-bat as a member of the Nationals, Eddie Rosario didn’t drive the ball out of the park. He didn’t rip a line drive to center for a base hit. He hit a little dribbler toward short, one that left his bat at a not-so-scalding 49.9 mph. And then busted down the line.

By the time Cardinals shortstop Brandon Crawford charged in to field the ball and throw to first, Rosario had already crossed the bag, throwing his arms out in a “safe” motion as he looked to first base umpire Jen Pawol, who made the same (in her case, official) call.

The expected batting average on such a grounder? A measly .110. Rosario, suffice it to say, beat the odds with his hustle.

“That’s what I know about him,” manager Davey Martinez said. “He’s going to play the game the right way, play the game hard. It was good to see him come out in the first game and do what he did.”

That was the only time Rosario reached base in his Nats debut Monday afternoon. He finished 1-for-3 with the infield single, a popout to second and a well-struck fly out to left. It was a fairly nondescript performance, but not shabby given the fact the 32-year-old just signed a minor league contract five days prior.

JUPITER, Fla. – We’ve reached the point of spring training where it’s appropriate to start looking more at results, though perhaps not enough to start reading too much into them.

What, then, to make of Patrick Corbin’s start this afternoon during the Nationals’ 11-4 exhibition win over the Cardinals? The left-hander gave up three runs on six hits and two walks, all while throwing a whopping 74 pitches in only 3 2/3 innings. But he also notched six strikeouts, four of those coming on his newly developed cutter.

“Obviously, you want good results,” Corbin said. “The first inning, to throw – what, 30 pitches? – is not ideal. But it’s going to happen at some point in the season. It’s not what you’re trying to do, but sometimes just try to see how you bounce back from that.”

Corbin did bounce back from a ragged opening frame, retiring five of the last six batters he faced. And the fact six of his eight total outs came via strikeout has to be encouraging for someone who has seen his strikeout rate plummet over the last six years from 11.1 to 6.2 per nine innings.

Corbin now has 16 strikeouts in 12 1/3 innings this spring, which equates to 11.7 per nine. And many of those are coming on the pitch he is currently adding to his repertoire and producing positive results to date.

JUPITER, Fla. – It took nearly four weeks, but the Nationals finally made their first round of cuts this morning, removing seven players from their spring training roster, the majority of them young starting pitchers who weren’t going to get the innings they needed had they remained in big league camp.

Right-handers Joan Adon, Cole Henry and Amos Willingham, left-handers DJ Herz and Mitchell Parker and infielder Jake Alu all were optioned to Triple-A Rochester. Outfielder Travis Blankenhorn, who isn’t on the 40-man roster, was reassigned to minor league camp.

Adon, Henry, Herz and Parker all could figure into the Nationals’ rotation plans over the course of the season, the latter three hoping to make their major league debuts. Adon has spent parts of the last three years in the majors as a fill-in starter.

“I really wanted to see some of these young guys pitch up here, and for the most part I saw some really good things,” manager Davey Martinez said. “But it’s time to get these guys stretched out and get them on a regular routine.”

Herz joined the organization last summer, acquired from the Cubs along with infielder Kevin Made for Jeimer Candelario in the Nats’ lone trade deadline deal. The 23-year-old lefty impressed in eight starts at Double-A Harrisburg down the stretch, then pitched in the Arizona Fall League and was added to the 40-man roster over the winter.

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

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Nasim Nuñez is as relaxed as can be at Nationals spring training.

Last December’s Rule 5 Draft pick is already right at home with his new team, often seen sitting at his locker and just hanging out with his fellow prospects Trey Lipscomb, Darren Baker, Brady House, Robert Hassell III, James Wood and Dylan Crews.

“It's like a friend from high school that you haven't seen in so long,” said Nuñez, who already knew most of his new teammates coming into camp. “And then you see them and it's the same thing. Y'all just kickin’ it.”

The Nationals selected Nuñez from the Marlins with the No. 5 pick in the Rule 5 Draft at last year’s Winter Meetings, just their second selection in the event since 2010 after taking right-hander Thaddeus Ward from the Red Sox with the first pick in 2022.

In a process that is usually foreign to the player – and, in this case, the organization – Nuñez is still adjusting to his new situation.

FORT MYERS, Fla. – Joan Adon is back at Nationals spring training competing for a spot in the major league rotation.

His locker in the clubhouse is next to the regular starters. He’s being stretched out as a starter. And he works out with the other starters.

Even so, there is hardly an expectation when the Nats break camp for the regular season that Adon will be on the flight to Cincinnati for Opening Day. But he’s still getting a fair shot at it.

Adon took a positive step forward in his camp with three shutout innings in the Nats’ 7-3 win over the Twins at Hammond Field.

After mixed results in his first two Grapefruit League appearances, both of which came out of the bullpen, the 25-year-old right-hander finally made his first start of the spring. He only gave up two hits and one walk while being efficient with his five-pitch mix, throwing 40 pitches, 27 for strikes.

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. 

FORT MYERS, Fla. – Victor Robles is back in the Nationals lineup for this afternoon’s game against the Twins at Hammond Stadium, three hours away from West Palm Beach.

The 26-year-old outfielder came out of the first game of yesterday’s doubleheader in the middle of the third inning after striking out against Astros starter José Urquidy in his second at-bat.

Manager Davey Martinez revealed after the game that Robles has been dealing with a knot in his hamstring since being hit by a pitch Wednesday against the Marlins in Jupiter.

“He's in there today,” Martinez said before the game against the Twins. “We'll see how he's doing today. He said he's feeling a lot better. He got some more treatment yesterday. He said (it feels) pretty good. Like I said, it's just that one area where you got hit. They worked on it yesterday. They broke up some scar tissue, so he said he feels a lot better today.”

Robles is leading off and playing center field against Twins starting right-hander Pablo López. It has been on-and-off raining in Fort Myers this morning, so we’ll see how far the Nats push him with a wet outfield.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Eddie Rosario has walked in and out of the Nationals clubhouse each of the past couple of days. Although he just arrived at the team’s spring training complex after agreeing to a minor league deal on Wednesday, he’s already busy.

He had a physical to take Thursday morning. He’s been introduced to his new teammates and coaches. He worked out with the club for the first time Thursday afternoon before the team headed to Port St. Lucie to play the Mets. And then again over the last two days.

Now he’s settled into camp, and it’s time for him to get to work trying to win a spot in the Nats outfield.

“It was a great deal,” said Rosario, via interpreter Octavio Martinez, when meeting members of the local media for the first time. “They gave me an opportunity and I feel great to be a part of this great organization and help out any way I can.”

The 31-year-old can help the team by being the player he has been over his nine-year career: The owner of a .268/.305/.460 slash line with a .766 OPS while averaging over 17 home runs and 60 RBIs a season.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The long weekend continued Saturday for the Nationals. After last night’s “weird game” against the Cardinals, they got ready for a split doubleheader against the Astros (as the away team) and Marlins (as the home team) at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches.

The early morning and quick turnaround didn’t work out well for the boys in navy blue jerseys and gray pants.

The Nationals came out sluggish in the opening game and eventually lost 9-4 to their West Palm Beach neighbors.

After manager Davey Martinez emphasized last night the need to hit with runners in scoring position, the bats couldn’t drive in Luis García Jr. when the second baseman led off the first with a double.

Things started to come apart quickly from there. Or maybe they were never together.

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.

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

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The Nationals announced their roster for the first-ever Spring Breakout game next week against the Mets in Port St. Lucie.

It includes 22 of their top 30 prospects, according to MLB Pipeline, including nine of the top 10 and 12 of the top 15:

PITCHERS
Jarlin Susana, RHP, No. 10
Travis Sykora, RHP, No. 11
DJ Herz, LHP, No. 12
Jackson Rutledge, RHP, No. 15
Mitchell Parker, LHP, No. 22
Cole Henry, RHP, No. 25
Dustin Saenz, LHP, No. 29
Andrew Alvarez, LHP, NR
Lucas Knowles, LHP, NR
Andry Lara, RHP, NR

CATCHERS
Drew Millas, C, No. 20
Israel Pineda, C, No. 26
Maxwell Romero Jr., C, NR

INFIELDERS
Brady House, 3B, No. 3 (MLB No. 48)
Yohandy Morales, 3B, No. 5
Trey Lipscomb, 3B, No. 16
Kevin Made, SS, No. 23
Darren Baker, 2B, No. 27
T.J. White, INF, No. 30
Armando Cruz, INF, NR

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. – In order for Jake Irvin to bounce back from his rough first two spring training outings, the big right-hander thought he just needed to get back into his starting routine.

Irvin’s first two appearances this spring came out of the bullpen after MacKenzie Gore started each game. While he can do his best to try to mimic his process and timing as if he were the starter, it’s still not the same coming in after the game has already begun

The results supported that theory, as he was charged with seven hits and eight runs (seven earned) in just 3 ⅔ innings.

This time around, Irvin got the ball to start the Grapefruit League game while Gore started a minor league game this afternoon back in West Palm Beach.

These results are more like what Irvin is accustomed to: four scoreless innings of two-hit ball with five strikeouts albeit in a 3-1 loss to the Mets at Clover Park.

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. – Joey Gallo returns to the Nationals lineup for the first time in over a week tonight against the Mets.

The veteran slugger will serve as the designated hitter and bat fourth behind Joey Meneses in his return to action.

Gallo last played on Feb. 28 against the Red Sox in West Palm Beach, but has since been sidelined with a tight left quadriceps muscle. He and the Nationals weren’t too concerned about the ailment when it happened – Gallo himself insisting if this was the regular season he would be playing – but there was no need to rush him back this early in spring training.

“He said he feels good,” manager Davey Martinez said before the team took the hour-long bus ride north to Clover Park. “Get him in there, get him a few at-bats today and see how he's doing. I haven't talked to him today, but I want to make sure I let him know, hey, just take it easy. Let's get your at-bats. Don't try to get doubles or whatever. Just take it slow, we'll build you up. But it's good to see that he's back in the lineup and he's gonna get some at-bats.”

Earlier today, there was initially a question of whether or not Gallo would play tonight that had nothing to do with his quad. The Mets, who were rained out yesterday in West Palm Beach against the Astros, pushed left-handed starter Jose Quintana to start tonight’s game instead of the scheduled right-hander.