WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – One of the most intriguing stories of the spring is the quest to find out if Shinnosuke Ogasawara is good enough to be successful against major league hitters. The Nationals have scouted the Japanese left-hander plenty, and they’ve seen him throw plenty during the first week-plus of spring training. But now they’re finally g

SARASOTA, Fla. – The first exhibition game is done, which brings us to the first road exhibition game. Gas up the rental and head northwest to Clearwater. If you reach Dunedin, you’ve gone too far. Left-hander Cade Povich starts against the Phillies after posting a 2.60 ERA and 0.868 WHIP in five September outings and holding opponents to a .162 av

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Robert Hassell III has been here before. One year ago, in his spring training debut, the Nationals prospect went 2-for-3 with a triple. Three days later, he homered. By the end of March, he sported a .357 batting average and 1.198 OPS. So there was a comfort level for Hassell when he stepped to the plate with the bases loade

SARASOTA, Fla. – The exhibition games started today and Jackson Holliday kept working out. He wasn't on the back fields. He was playing second base and fielding everything hit at him. Holliday got the final out in the first inning on Darick Hall's grounder, made the play on Liover Peguero's ball in the second that Albert Suárez deflected, and handl

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – A bunch of guys are going to play for the Nationals today in their Grapefruit League opener against the Astros. But not everyone. Some prominent regulars are being held back and are expected to debut Sunday against the Mets, including CJ Abrams, Luis García Jr. and Nathaniel Lowe. That’s the routine in late February, when ha

SARASOTA, Fla. – Gunnar Henderson is batting leadoff this afternoon and Jackson Holliday is the second baseman for today’s exhibition opener against the Pirates at Ed Smith Stadium. Left fielder Dylan Carlson is the only player in the lineup who isn’t projected to make the Opening Day roster, though he’s competing for a job. Cedric Mullins is batti

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Who’s ready for some baseball? I can assure everyone here is, having made it through 10 days of pitchers and catchers and eventually full-squad workouts. Those days get tedious toward the end, and everyone is itching to get the Grapefruit League started this afternoon. The Nationals are on the road for their opener, but that

SARASOTA, Fla. – Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said yesterday that a “handful” of his regulars will be in this afternoon’s lineup for the first exhibition game against the Pirates at Ed Smith Stadium. “I’m gonna give a few guys the weekend,” he said. “We’ve got some back-field stuff going, too. Not in any hurry to get any of these guys in there righ

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – If there was any reason to debate who will hold the top spot in the Nationals’ batting order to begin the season, Davey Martinez put it to rest today with a fairly definitive revelation. “CJ is going to lead off,” the eighth-year manager said. “The 3-4-5 will be kind of different. The 2-spot might be a little different at ti

Fan-selected top 20 moments will be displayed throughout the ballpark;three will be featured in Mystery Bobblehead giveaway on May 24 The Washington Nationals asked, and thousands of fans cast their ballots to choose the NATS20 Fan Favorite Moments, part of the Washington Nationals season-long 20th Anniversary celebration. Images representing the f