JUPITER, Fla. - As the days tick down on spring training, the days of lineups featuring backups and minor leaguers dwindle as well. Case in point: For the second straight night, the Nationals are using all of their regulars. There are only a couple minor tweaks from last night's lineup: Matt Adams is playing first base and batting sixth, with Ryan Zimmerman serving as DH tonight. And Yan Gomes, who was DH last night, is catching while Kurt Suzuki gets a rest. Otherwise, things are the same,...

SARASOTA, Fla. - The Orioles get to again experience the sheer joy of making a trip to Dunedin to play the Blue Jays, and it's in an extremely rare night game. Under the lights. Hasn't happened, I'm told, in a very long time. Perhaps the traffic going back to Sarasota will be a little more tolerable. Mike Wright makes his final spring start before learning his fate, which is more likely whether he's in the rotation or bullpen. He opposes Aaron Sanchez tonight. Wright had followed 10...

SARASOTA, Fla. - After his outing versus Boston on Wednesday night, the spring stats don't look as solid for right-hander Jimmy Yacabonis. He allowed four runs (three earned) in a messy top of the eighth. But several factors worked against him in the inning - a double play not turned that would have ended a scoreless inning, two passed balls, a throwing error and a strikeout that went for a wild pitch with a runner reaching. Yep, messy. Before that, Yacabonis had allowed two runs over 7 2/3...

All right, we're down to the wire now, folks. The Nationals have three more game days here in Florida, then fly home Sunday night, then face the Yankees in D.C. on Monday, then get two days to rest up before the season opener against the Mets. There's another night game to be played this evening against the Marlins in Jupiter, so that frees us up this morning to take your questions on the team, on the spring, on the upcoming season and more. Submit your questions in the comments section...

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - It had been five days since Sean Doolittle last took the mound in a game, and the Nationals closer had spent much of those five days trying to figure out what went wrong during a five-run meltdown and how to correct it. But as soon as he fired his first pitch tonight, a 91-mph strike, Doolittle knew things were going to be just fine. "It's not quite where I want it to be, but that was definite improvement over last time," he said after tossing a scoreless ninth to cap...

SARASOTA, Fla. - The latest roster cuts yesterday, condensed and earlier than usual, left the Orioles with 35 players in camp. Manager Brandon Hyde has to remove 10 more before opening day while knowing that the waiver wire is a potential complication. In a good way, of course. Mark Trumbo is a wild card because he could go on the injured list. Hyde will be asked about it again in a day or two and repeat that the decision is on hold. It's going down to the wire. The Orioles need Trumbo healthy...

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - The Nationals head north Sunday night following their Grapefruit League finale. Tony Sipp and Howie Kendrick might not make the trip, though both will be in Washington for opening day. With Sipp and Kendrick each hurriedly trying to get ready in time to make the opening day roster but running out of time to return to game action, the Nationals are making plans to have both veterans stay back in Florida and continue to work up until the last minute. Manager Davey Martinez...

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Michael A. Taylor plans to take batting practice today, play catch from long-toss range and run on the synthetic agility field that sits outside the Nationals' spring training complex. He'll be doing this exactly one week after he sprained both his left knee and hip making a diving catch, an injury and diagnosis that prompted manager Davey Martinez to declare that Taylor was likely to "miss a significant amount of time." All of this seems to be catching everyone...

BRADENTON, Fla. - As Francisco Cervelli circled the bases today, his fly ball to the opposite field dropping on the other side of the fence, Orioles starter David Hess had to be wondering about his hold on a rotation spot. Six home runs allowed in his last two outings. All of them in 3 2/3 innings. None of them a good look for a guy trying to convince the new regime that he can be the fourth starter. Hess spun the story in the opposite direction, making the kind of recovery usually found in...

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - After a day off, the Nationals return rested and refreshed for a night game against a Cardinals split-squad. And since everyone's rested and refreshed, all the regulars are in the lineup. Davey Martinez has been tinkering with both one-two combos, alternating between Adam Eaton and Trea Turner. He hasn't made up his mind yet how he'll arrange things for opening day, but tonight it's Eaton leading off and Turner batting second. We'll also see both catchers tonight,...