Nationals Release Interesting Lineup as They Try to Stay Undefeated vs. Yankees

The Washington Nationals have enjoyed a nice start to their 2026 spring training campaign.

Sitting 4-0 with a tie to their name after winning late against the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday, the Nationals will look to keep things rolling against the New York Yankees in a road matchup on Wednesday night at George M. Steinbrenner Field.

Washington released their starting lineup, and it was an interesting one. The scheduled starter is Andrew Alvarez, the left-hander who came on late in the season last year and impressed with a 2.31 ERA across his five starts. This will be his first start of the spring.

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Alvarez is in the running to earn the fifth rotation spot. He's kind of been forgotten about when it comes to that battle, as the likes of Josiah Gray, Jake Irvin and Mitchell Parker have gotten more of the attention following the signing of Miles Mikolas during camp.

However, based on what he showed during his limited major league action last season, he should not be overlooked. Now, he'll have his first opportunity in game action on Wednesday as he tries to get off to a good start.

Main Squad Takeaways

Dylan Crews of the Washington Nationals | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

The biggest thing that stands out is Keibert Ruiz is getting back-to-back starts. On Tuesday, he was the designated hitter, and the Nationals didn't pull him until the bottom of the eighth inning, which was well after their usual line change. Now, he'll be the starting catcher as he tries to prove why he should hold that position on Opening Day.

Dylan Crews is back in the lineup and is starting in center field. It has not been a great beginning to this spring campaign for the 2023 second overall pick, but it's still early in the ramp up process. Hopefully he's able to start showing a bit more at the plate with the more reps he gets.

Trey Lipscomb has been a bright spot for Washington thus far and he's slotted in at third base. As he battles for a bench spot, he has brought his bat in the early going and is doing whatever he can to make a case for himself. If he keeps up this production, it will be hard to keep to him off the roster.

Jose Tena is getting some run at second on Wednesday as CJ Abrams takes back over his shortstop position. Depending on what happens with Luis Garcia Jr., there could be a new face at the keystone. So Tena has a chance to show what he can do defensively at that spot alongside Abrams.