Washington Nationals vs St. Louis Cardinals: Grapefruit League GameThread - Gio Gonzalez vs the Cards...

Still no Daniel Murphy. Adam Eaton is expected in the lineup this weekend. How about Ryan Zimmerman? He’s been playing in minor league games (as has Michael A. Taylor), getting all they at bats they can in a more controlled environment. So quit worrying, or, perhaps, try to hide your worrying better... it’s not like Opening Day is two weeks away, right?

Gio Gonzalez is going strong, however, and he’ll be on the mound this afternoon in the Nationals’ Grapefruit League matchup with the St. Louis Cardinals in West Palm Beach, Florida’s FITTEAM Ballpark of the Palm Beaches.

The action gets underway at 1:05 PM EDT, and it’s available live on MASN this afternoon.

Gonzalez, 32, started in a minor league game last time out, so he’ll be making his third start of the Spring this afternoon. Thus far in Grapefruit League action, the left-hander, who’s entering what could be his final season in D.C., has given up seven hits, just one walk, and two earned runs in five innings of work.

Behind Gonzalez is a mix of expected everyday regulars and bench players (and Andrew Stevenson, who’s somewhere in-between right now, likely headed for Triple-A to start the season, but getting a lot of at bats this Spring).

The Nationals are coming off an ugly game against the Houston Astros yesterday, which new skipper Dave Martinez said was behind them after he gave it 30 minutes of thought following the lopsided, walk and mistake-filled affair.

“I look at it as: It’s a game,” Martinez said, as quoted by MASN’s Mark Zuckerman.

“You hope nobody gets injured in a game like that. That’s what you’re hoping for. And you come out of it with everybody being OK.”

With Gonzalez on the mound, and the MASN crew covering the action, the Nationals will try to move on from that one today.

HERE’S THE NATIONALS’ LINEUP VS THE CARDS IN WEST PALM BEACH: