The Washington Nationals played an exhibition game on Friday against the Georgetown Hoyas, but the team's actual exhibition season begins in earnest today when they face the Houston Astros, and former teammate Livan Hernandez, in Washington's Grapefruit League opener. Here is today's lineup, via Mark Zuckerman of Nats Insider:
STARTING LINEUP
SS Ian Desmond
2B Danny Espinosa
CF Rick Ankiel
1B Chad Tracy
DH Jason Michaels
3B Mark Teahen
RF Bryce Harper
LF Roger Bernadina
C Jesus Flores
(P Edwin Jackson)
All eyes will of course be on Bryce Harper, who will bat seventh and play right field. Rick Ankiel will start in center field today, but it has already been reported that Jayson Werth will start in CF on Sunday, as the evaluation of that position will occur daily during the spring for Washington.
First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 PM from Osceola County Stadium in Kissimmee, Florida. Though Saturday's game will not be televised, it can be heard on local sports talker WJFK (106.7 FM).
We'll have much more on Spring Training here at SB Nation DC in the coming weeks. In the meantime, check out SB Nation's Nationals blog, Federal Baseball, for more news and notes. And don't forget to visit Baseball Nation, the MLB hub of SB Nation for information from around the league.