The wait is over to see some real baseball action underway at Tradition Field in Port St. Lucie, as the New York Mets kick off their Grapefruit League schedule against the defending NL East champion Washington Nationals. Here is all the information you need before you watch the first pitch thrown at 12:10pm EST.
Mets Starting Lineup:
Ruben Tejada SS
David Wright 3B
June 10, 2012; Bronx, NY, USA; New York Mets center fielder Kirk Nieuwenhuis (9) in the dugout before the game against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports
Marlon Byrd RF
Lucas Duda LF
Washington Nationals Starting Lineup:
Denard Span CF
Bryce Harper LF
Tyler Moore RF
Chad Tracy 3B
Ian Desmond SS
Micah Owings DH
Probable Starting Pitchers:
Mets: Shaun Marcum, RHP
Nationals: Stephen Strasburg, RHP
Other Mets pitchers scheduled to take the mound today:
Zack Wheeler, Cory Mazzoni, Jeurys Familia, Darin Gorski
Where to watch the game:
MLB Network will be carrying the game, as that will be the only way you can get a glimpse of Spring baseball today, with WFAN not holding radio broadcasts until early next week.
Weather:
In case you were wondering, the gametime temperature in PSL will be 81 degrees with mostly sunny skies, and no chance for rain. If only it was like that in the Northeast!
Thoughts:
Terry Collins is giving Captain Kirk the first crack at showing whether or not he can be a worthy leadoff man. We’ve known he’d be at the top of the lineup for most of the week, as that pushes Tejada down to the two-hole, which was facilitated by Daniel Murphy being out because of his intercostal muscle. If someone else can step up and take on that role, that’d allow Collins some flexibility in his lineup, which could prove useful if he decides to incorporate platoons in the outfield.
It’ll also be interesting to see how Micah Owings fares, as Davey Johnson is immediately giving him a chance to prove himself at the plate after deciding to ditch pitching to be an everyday player.
Whatever happens, it’s one step closer to the official start of the 2013 season…Let’s go Mets!
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Topics: Kirk Nieuwenhuis, New York Mets, Shaun Marcum, Washington Nationals
Matt is a 25 year old college admissions counselor and has been involved in baseball his entire life. He's had many different relationships with sports; he played through college and was invited to a professional tryout, grew up a diehard Mets fan, and has his bachelor's and master's degree in Sport Management. He would eventually like to turn sports writing into his full-time profession. In addition to being the editor of Rising Apple, Matt also contributes to his personal site periodically, http://on-the-way-home.org; to keep up with all his posts, follow him on Twitter.
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