West Palm Beach, Florida— The Nationals defeated the Houston Astros in a low-scoring affair for their first contest of the Spring. A home run in the bottom of the fifth inning by Jorgelys Mota was the deciding factor in the game, although the Nats dodged a few bases-loaded scares from the Astros.

Jupiter, Florida— The Nats collected their second win of the day against the Cardinals, powered by a four-run fifth inning to take a commanding 6-2 lead. Maxwell Romero Jr. hit a three-run homer to lead the way for Washington, while Trey Lipscomb contributed two hits, two RBI, and a walk. The Nats didn’t allow a hit for the final four innings of the game, allowing them to coast to the win.

In West Palm Beach, offense was hard to come by for both the Astros and Nationals. The Nats scored their first run in the bottom of the fifth from a bases-loaded walk from CJ Abrams. In the next inning, Jorgelys Mota homered to right-center field for the Nats second run of the game.

Just north in Jupiter, Trey Lipscomb got the scoring started in the top of the third with a line drive single to drive in Sam Petersen. Harry Ford continued the scoring in the next inning with a single to right. Minor Leaguer Sergio Acantara singled in the top of the fifth to drive in newly acquired Matt Mervis. Maxwell Romero Jr. capped the scoring in the fifth with a three-run homer to right field.

Nationals vs Astros

Jorgelys Mota provided the biggest swing of the game for the Nats in their first game at home in the Spring. It gave the Nats a 2-1 lead over the Astros and was the deciding factor.

Nationals vs Cardinals

The Nationals strung together offense in back-to-back innings on the road against the Cardinals in the fourth and fifth innings. Maxwell Romero Jr. put an exclamation point on the scoring with a three-run homer in the bottom of the fifth to give the Nats a 6-2 lead.

Jake Eder started for the Nats against the Astros in their first home game of the Spring. The left-hander threw two innings while allowing one run, striking out two, and walking two. Richard Lovelady followed Eder and loaded the bases, but struck out three batters to get out of the jam. PJ Poulin, Paxton Shultz, Seth Shuman, Jack Sinclair, and Sandy Gaston combined to pitch the next five innings. Those pitchers combined to strike out six batters, walk just three, and give up no earned runs. The top of the ninth was interesting due to Holden Powell walking the bases loaded. Powell proceeded to strike out the next batter and followed that with a double play to end the game.

Shinnosuke Ogasawara started the other game for the Nats against the Cardinals and was very inefficient on the mound. Ogasawara pitched just 1.1 innings while allowing a home run and two walks. It wasn’t the improvement you hoped for from the left-handed pitcher. Jared Simpson bailed Ogasawara out of the second inning. Andry Lara, Eddy Yean, Isaac Lyon, Erik Tolman, and Marquis Grissom Jr. pitched the final seven innings. They combined for nine strikeouts, three walks, and one earned run.

Across both games today, the Nationals’ pitching staff walked 16 batters and struck out 23. While it’s just the beginning of Spring Training, the Nats coaching staff will have to fix the number of walks pitchers allow.

The Nats cost themselves a run in the top of the second inning versus the Houston Astros when starting pitcher Jake Eder failed to cover first base on a ground ball. It signified the beginning of Spring Training, as that type of play is expected to be an out in the regular season. In the top of the ninth, Angel Felix turned an unassisted double play to secure the 2-1 victory.

Eight of the final fifteen outs of the Nationals’ contest against the Cardinals were strikeouts, giving the defense little opportunity to showcase itself. The Nats pitchers recorded just four groundball outs in the game.

A go-ahead home run from Jorgelys Mota in the bottom of the sixth inning was key for the Nats in their win against the Houston Astros. Mota, just 20 years old, is looking to make a lasting impression on the Nats’ new front office. The homer from the right-handed hitter gave the Nats a 2-1 advantage over the Astros.

The key moment in the Nats’ contest against the St. Louis Cardinals was Maxwell Romero Jr.’s three-run home run. The 24-year-old is a former ninth-round pick in the MLB Draft. Romero Jr.’s homer put the cap on a four-run fifth inning for the Nats to take the lead over the Cardinals, 6-2.

Player of the Game: Jorgelys Mota(1-1, HR, RBI), Maxwell Romero Jr.(1-3, HR, 3 RBI)

Guiding questions:

The Nationals take on the Miami Marlins on Sunday, February 22nd. Sandy Alcantara will be taking the mound for the Marlins, while the Nats have yet to announce their starting pitcher. First pitch is set for 1:10 PM EST. The Nats look to continue their strong start to spring and improve to 3-0.