The new wrinkle is the bugaboo that always shows up in the midst of a losing streak: errors. Four today, with two by Steve Lombardozzi while playing third base (both on throws). Lombardozzi singled once in three ABs to improve his spring average to .302 and notched two assists.
Corey Brown also got a start. He went 0-for-4 with an RBI and snagged two flyballs in LF. Other notable minor-leaguers to get in the game were:
- Adrian Sanchez took over for Danny Espinosa at second base, going 0-for-1 at the plate and handling all three chances on defense over the last four innings
- Michael Taylor pinch-ran and scored a run but struck out in his sole AB. He manned CF for the last three innings but had no errors, putouts, or assists.
- Brett Newsome also scored as pinch-runner and flew out to LF in his lone plate appearance. He took over at 1B and notched three putouts in three innings.
- Chris Rahl pinch-ran but did not score, going 0-for-1 while taking over RF duties from Brett Carroll. He had one putout.
- Josh Johnson took over 3B for Lombardozzi, and grounded out to end the game for his 0-for-1 line.
The Nats return to Viera tomorrow afternoon to host the Mets. Stephen Strasburg makes his fifth spring start. The game can be heard locally on 106.7FM and 1500AM.