Led by a dominant 3 shutout innings from recently named Opening Day starter Cade Cavalli, the Nats beat the Cardinals 3-1 yesterday to improve to 10-4 on the spring, 2nd second in all of baseball. Cavalli has had as good of a Spring Training as you could hope for, as he has now thrown 9 shutout innings over 3 starts, with just 1 hit allowed. His newly added sweeper is looking sharp as well, generating lots of weak contact from right-handed hitters so far.
Jake Irvin takes the mound tonight for the Nats, and he has looked impressive as well this month, throwing 5 scoreless innings and striking out 6 batters. The lineup behind him looks rather standard, with James Wood and Daylen Lile being the only starters sitting, and Robert Hassell III and Christian Franklin taking their places. One notable defensive positioning is Nasim Nunez getting the start at third base, an opportunity to hone his skills at another position on the dirt.
The Astros will counter with a lineup filled with starters, with Jose Altuve and Isaac Paredes being the most notable names missing from the starting 9. On the bump for the Astros is right-handed pitcher Mike Burrows, who was acquired from the Pirates in the winter and has thrown 8.2 scoreless innings to start his spring.
With the addition of Zack Littell, room in the Nationals’ rotation is tightening, and guys like Jake Irvin are on the chopping block, making every start critical for him to show he’s made real improvements from last season. I will be watching how he uses his pitch mix today and if he can maintain strong velocity throughout the outing. Follow along in the comments down below and let’s go Nats!
Stadium: CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches