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Nats Split Spring Training Doubleheader

Split DoubleheaderIn West Palm Beach, the Nats walked off the Astros for a 3-2 win while the Mets hung a three-spot in the 9th to hand the visitors from Washington a 6-3 loss.

In West Palm Beach, the Nats loaded the bases on a pair of one-out singles by Brenner Cox and Yadiel Hernandez with a walk drawn by Lucius Fox in between. The Astros couldn’t Wilson Garcia’s tapper to the 5/6 hole into a double play, allowing Cox to score the gamewinner.

Across the crazy state, Anthony Castro gave up a solo HR to start the 8th and couldn’t cover for Darren Baker’s two-out error that extended the inning and gave up a two-run single to turn a 4-2 lead into a 6-2 lead. Washington got the run back after New York’s Lorenzo Cedrolo matched Baker’s effort on a ball hit by Baker, which sent in Brady House in to score the third and final run.

Both games saw each pitcher throwing one inning and each starting position player replaced once.

Here’s a rundown of how the notable minor leaguers fared in West Palm Beach:

  • Jeter Downs got the start at SS and went 0-for-1 with a walk and a stolen base
  • Jake Alu turned a DP with Downs in the field but was 0-for-2 at the plate
  • Jeremy De La Rosa subbed for Lane Thomas in RF and also played LF but flew out to end the 7th
  • Onix Vega followed Keibert Ruiz behind the plate and flied to CF to end the 8th
  • Cox was the replacement for Victor Robles in CF and was 1-for-2 overall
  • Cade Cavalli retired the side in the 2nd with a strikeout

Likewise for the visitors in Port St. Lucie:

  • Israel Pineda got the start behind the plate but was 0-for-3 with a whiff
  • Baker pinch-hit for Luis García in the 7th and had a single and a stolen base, finishing at 1-for-2 with a run scored
  • José Sánchez subbed for Matt Adams at 1B and struck out to end the 7th
  • Yasel Antuna replaced Alex Call in LF and fanned in his only at-bat
  • Jackson Rutledge threw 12 pitches, nine for strikes as he tossed a 1-2-3 third inning, which qualified him for a hold
  • Jake Irvin struck out one while needing just 8 pitched to get three outs in the 5th

Tomorrow is the first of two scheduled off days for the 2023 spring training schedule. It’s a home game on Tuesday against the Cardinals and can be heard on MLB.com (St. Louis feed).

7 Commments

  1. Nice to see Cavalli back and healthy.

    A scoreless outing has been a rarity for Jackson Rutledge in his career, so it’s good to see him start ’23 with one, even if it was just one inning.

  3. Didn’t Baker get thrown out stealing to end the game in port st. Lucie. Embarrassing mistake for the rookie if so.

    1. Yes, Baker was caught stealing to end the game. Perhaps J. T. Snow can explain to him that attempting to steal while three runs down isn’t exactly recommended. One suspects that he was being overly aggressive in an attempt to compensate for his error.

  4. Moving forward from last post: who had Brenner Cox in the pool to get in an MLB game before Hassell, Wood, Green, White, Young, or McKenzie? I’m thinking they must REALLY like that kid to even have him in an MLB dugout the spring after he was drafted.

  5. Rutledge threw fastballs on all but two pitches and didn’t seem to be getting on top of them. still hitting 96-98 was able to induce three outs, on of them hard hit to right.

    Romero struggled with command and was left out there to throw 32 pitches.

    Irvin looked good, got up to 97 and all looked free and easy.

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