Nats Drop 3-1 Decision to Mets; Spring Breakout Rosters Revealed

An early 1-0 lead went buh-bye in the middle innings as the Mets handed the Nats a 3-1 defeat last night.

Jake Irvin bounced back from a “is he hurt?” outing^* to shut out the Mets on two hits over four innings, walking none and striking out five.
^{* Editor: How is that different than any other outing?}

The loss went to journeyman Richard Bleier on a two-run HR in the 5th.

With the Nats on the road, James Wood, Drew Millas, Jacob Young, and Darren Baker were in the starting lineup in CF, C, LF, and 2B respectively. Young drove in the sole run on an infield single in the 2nd while Darren Baker singled in the 5th. Wood and Millas both went 0-for-3, with Millas striking out twice.

Here’s how the rest of “our guys” did coming off the bench:

• Dylan Crews replaced Wood in CF and struck out in his only at-bat
• Robert Hassell subbed for Lane Thomas in RF and grounded out to end the 7th
• Brady House pinch-hit for Joey Gallo in the 9th and laced an opposite-field single to right
• Trey Lipscomb followed Carter Kieboom at 3B but did not come to the plate, but had an assist
• Israel Pineda caught the last three innings and had one putout, no ABs

The Nats return to West Palm Beach tonight to host the Cardinals. Josiah Gray is expected to make his his third spring start. The game can be heard on MLB Radio.

Yesterday, MLB released the Spring Breakout Rosters—somehow not sponsored by ProActiv—for all 30 teams. Here’s a quick look at the Nats’ contingent (ordered alphabetically if you’re a MASN/WaPo Commenter):

All but Knowles are 2024 watchlist players. Perhaps the most notable is the possible appearance of Travis Sykora, who has yet to throw in a regular-season game.