Preview And Lineups: Spring Training Game 9 | St. Louis Cardinals @ Washington Nationals

Mar 2, 2013; St. Louis, MO, USA; Washington Nationals catcher Kurt Suzuki (24) tags out St. Louis Cardinals left fielder Matt Holliday (7) at Roger Dean Stadium. The Nationals defeated the Cardinals 6-2. Mandatory Credit: Scott Rovak-USA TODAY Sports

Yesterday’s game was good for the Washington Nationals offense. They got good pitching from Gio Gonzalez for three innings after an iffy first inning and Ryan Perry had an outstanding performance over three innings after he struggled in his first appearance of the spring. Even Drew Storenpitched a scoreless inning against the team that plagued him in last year’s finale.

From an offensive standpoint, Chris Marrero and Anthony Rendon continued to hit the ball well. The wind was helping the offense but these are two players who are making the bench conversation very interesting, and even if they don’t make the opening day roster, they have a huge opportunity to be the first players called up – especially Rendon who has yet to make his Major League debut and may start in AAA like they did with Bryce Harper a year ago. Especially since there is no real place for Rendon to start at the Major League level. Marrero, who is listed as a first baseman but has played the outfield as well may be able to challenge for the Tyler Moore spot on the bench.

Today’s game sees the Nationals playing what could easily be a regular season lineup in an interleague game in a rematch against the St. Louis Cardinals. Ryan Zimmerman is making his debut of the spring as the designated hitter as he tries to redeem himself after suffering through an injury last season but not missing much playing time. An interesting aspect is that Harper is batting third and Jayson Werth is in the second spot as Davey Johnson continues to play with his batting order. Steve Lombardozzi is playing at third today, and Ross Detwiler is making his second start of the spring looking to build on his first start as he prepares for the World Baseball Classic later this week. Game time is 1:05 and again, no television for today’s game.

St. Louis Cardinals (4-3)
Shane Robinson CF
Adron Chambers LF
Matt Carpenter 2B
Ty Wigginton DH
Matt Adams 1B
Tony Cruz C
Pete Kozma 3B
Justin Christian RF
Ronny Cedeno SS
P: Jaime Garcia

Washington Nationals (3-3)
Denard Span CF
Jayson Werth RF
Bryce Harper LF
Ryan Zimmerman DH
Adam LaRoche 1B
Ian Desmond SS
Danny Espinosa 2B
Kurt Suzuki C
Steve Lombardozzi 3B
P: Ross Detwiler