WEST PALM BEACH, Florida, USA (AP) — Dave Martinez, Washington Nationals manager, actively requested that the team play more night games this preseason.
His wish was fulfilled.
Of the five teams on the Nationals preseason schedule, only the New York Mets, their Saturday rivals, will get more night matches in the Grapefruit League this year than the six in Washington.
“I think this gives players a different perspective on how to prepare, because we do play night matches and then turn around and play during the day,” Martinez said. “Even when there is a different lineup, players can get used to getting up after a night game and getting ready.”
The Puerto Rican manager is not the only one who wants the duels to start later.
“I would prefer that to happen all the time,” said Mets manager Buck Showalter.
Playing at night would meet several practical objectives, Martinez considered. Especially in a preseason that was shortened due to lockout.
It allowed him to observe Patrick Corbin, the likely opener of the opening game, in his second batting practice of the preseason in the morning.
The left-hander Corbin made 42 pitches during three simulated innings, in what was probably his last preparatory session before his first start in the Grapefruit League.
Then, in the evening, Martinez watched Dominican Nelson Cruz, his newly acquired slugger, hit for a double kill and hit a single to left field, in his first game with the Nationals.
The team's first four preseason matches at home start at 6:05 in the afternoon. The vast majority of regular season games in Washington start later.
“Particularly in the last weeks of the preseason, I always wondered why we weren't playing more night games so that we were getting ready for our schedules,” said first baseman Josh Bell.
Improvements to stadium lighting allow teams to schedule more pre-season night games.
Although the lights in the preseason complexes do not reach the brightness of the major league courses, Martinez said that the system at the Ballpark of the Palm Beaches, where his team plays, does not detract from it at all.
“They are one of the best lights there is,” he said.
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