Washington Nationals vs Houston Astros: Grapefruit League GameThread...

Another day, another Grapefruit League game against the Houston Astros for the Washington Nationals in West Palm Beach, Florida’s Ballpark of the Palm Beaches.

The two teams who share the new facility meet up again this afternoon at 1:05 PM EDT with Joe Ross on the mound for the Nats and Charlie Morton on the hill for the ‘Stros.

Ross, 23, makes his fourth start of the Spring after holding the Astros scoreless over four innings on the mound last time out.

Through three starts, the Nationals’ right-hander has given up six hits, two walks and two earned runs in 8 ²⁄₃ innings pitched, holding opposing hitters to a combined .188 line so far this Spring.

“My mechanics were a lot better this outing than the last one,” Ross told reporters, as quoted by Washington Post writer Jorge Castillo after the start.

“My command was a lot better, too. I got a little tired at the end, but other than that I was pretty happy with how it went.”

Ross is all set for start No. 4 of the Spring.

The Nationals’ lineup for this afternoon’s matchup underwent several changes on the way to today’s game with Jayson Werth and Michael A. Taylor originally pencilled in, but then removed.

Dusty Baker told reporters that Werth was dealing with a sore knee, but was fine, while Taylor is away from the team while dealing with a family issue:

Here’s the final version of the Nationals’ lineup for this afternoon’s matchup with the Astros:

NOTE: Today’s game is available on 1580 AM in D.C. and through MLB.com’s Gameday Audio with Charlie and Dave calling the action from West Palm Beach, FL.