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Washington Nationals' skipper Davey Johnson pulled Ross Detwiler out of his relief role late last season and put the then-25-year-old left-hander, who turned 26 in early March, back into the starting rotation where the former 1st Round pick impressed, ending the year with strong back-to-back-to-back outings against the Mets, Phillies and Braves. Detwiler will likely find himself back in the bullpen again at the start of the 2012 campaign, with 27-year-old left-hander John Lannan named the team's fifth starter by Johnson earlier this week. If not Lannan, it was likely going to be 31-year-old right-hander Chien-Ming Wang edging Detwiler out for the final spot in the rotation behind Stephen Strasburg, Gio Gonzalez, Jordan Zimmermann and Edwin Jackson.
But Davey Johnson told reporters last week that Detwiler has once again been one of the best pitchers in camp with the Nationals, so it will be interesting to see how long the former Missouri State University lefty remains a reliever. Detwiler, who's given up 11 hits and six runs, five earned, in 11.2 IP this Spring, walking four and striking out 12 in five Grapefruit League outings, makes his sixth appearance and his first start of the Spring tonight at 6:05 pm EDT. The game against the Miami Marlins is being broadcast live on MASN and it's available on MLB.tv. No audio apparently. But you can watch the game and follow along in the comments. Turn on MASN, get out your laptop, and watch Ross Detwiler take on the Fish. Here's the lineup that will start the game behind Detwiler tonight:
- Ian Desmond - SS
- Danny Espinosa - 2B
- Ryan Zimmerman - 3B
- Jayson Werth - CF
- Adam LaRoche - 1B
- Mark DeRosa - LF
- Xavier Nady - RF
- Wilson Ramos - C
- Ross Detwiler - LHP