Game Thread: Yankees vs. Nats in West Palm Beach
Josiah Gray looks to build off his strong spring debut, while the Nationals' struggling hitters look to get something going at the plate
The Yankees are in West Palm Beach tonight, but let’s be clear about something: The visiting team may be wearing Yankees jerseys and caps, but these really aren’t the Yankees. Between the star players who left camp for the World Baseball Classic and the other regulars who didn’t make the long drive from Tampa, hardly anybody participating tonight has serious name recognition.
Nevertheless, Josiah Gray’s assignment is to pitch at least three innings, stay healthy and look sharp, no matter the names in the opposing lineup. Gray enjoyed a strong spring debut Monday against the Astros, striking out three over 1 2/3 innings. He’ll look to build off that and continue to make his case for a spot in the Opening Day rotation.
I mentioned in this morning’s article how much the Nationals’ most-important hitters haven’t done much at the plate this spring, and the top four names on that list just so happen to be the top four names in Blake Butera’s lineup tonight. James Wood will lead off, with Dylan Crews, CJ Abrams (who has been used in the No. 3 spot several times now) and Daylen Lile following. Luis García Jr. also makes his second appearance of the spring at first base, having looked very comfortable there the first time.
You can listen to tonight’s game on 106.7 FM, with Charlie and Dave on the call. As always, I’ll try to share some thoughts of my own in the comments section and look forward to reading your remarks as well.
NEW YORK YANKEES vs. WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches
Gametime: 6:05 p.m. EDT
TV: None
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 77 degrees, wind 13 mph in from right
YANKEES
LF Jasson Domínguez
C J.C. Escarra
SS George Lombard Jr.
CF Spencer Jones
1B Seth Brown
DH Marco Luciano
2B Jorbit Vivas
RF Yanquiel Fernández
3B Jonathan Ornelas
RHP Will Warren
NATIONALS
LF James Wood
CF Dylan Crews
SS CJ Abrams
RF Daylen Lile
1B Luis García Jr.
3B Brady House
DH Andrés Chaparro
2B José Tena
C Drew Millas
RHP Josiah Gray
And that's a 3-0 Nats victory, another strong pitching performance in a spring full of them. In addition to Gray's three scoreless, Ken Waldichuk also threw three scoreless innings of relief, with Cionel Perez, PJ Poulin and Richard Lovelady finishing off the shutout. Only four hits from the Nats lineup, but as stated earlier, there was a lot of hard contact and some much-needed hits from both Crews and Wood.
Everybody appears to be swinging tonight. Will Warren has thrown only 20 pitches through two scoreless innings. Josiah Gray has thrown only 32 pitches through three scoreless innings. Gray is throwing a few more fastballs tonight than last time out, 12 of those 32 pitches. His velocity is slightly down, averaging 91 mph and topping out at 92 mph. But he's recorded five swings and misses on curveballs, sliders and changeups, a good sign.