Raudy Read and Drew Ward smacked back-to-back two-out jacks to cap off a four-run 6th as the Nats pummeled the Tigers, 9-1 for their third spring win in five games.
Joe Ross got the start and tossed two scoreless innings, a feat matched by the law firm of first two relievers, Taylor Hill and Jacob Turner. Braulio Lara ballooned his spring ERA to 21.60 with a run coughed up in the 8th to lose the shutout.
Here’s a rundown of how the watchlist position players did:
• Brian Goodwin (LF) and Matt Skole (3B) both started and both drew a walk but neither collected a hit.
• Andrew Stevenson was Goodwin’s replacement in LF and went 1-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored, but also whiffed twice.
• Rafael Bautista spelled Michael Taylor in CF but was 0-for-3.
• Ward, who subbed for Skole, struck out in his second AB.
• Read, who followed Jhonatan Solano at catcher, walked in his second PA.
• Victor Robles made his spring debut as the replacement in RF for Brandon Snyder but was hitless in two at-bats.
• Osvaldo Abreu singled in two at-bats as the second DH behind Spencer Kieboom.
The Nats return “home” but will be the visiting team when they play the Astros on Thursday. It can heard on MLB Radio and MLB.tv (Houston broadcasts).