Astros vs. Nationals 3/2/2026 Spring Training Game Thread

Yordan Alvarez makes his 2026 Grapefruit League debut today for the Astros.

Houston Astros (1-6-2) host the Washington Nationals (5-3-2) today in Grapefruit League action.

RHP Hunter Brown will make his second start of the Spring today. He hurled 2.0 scoreless innings in his first start on Feb. 25 at MIA. Brown, who will be the Astros 2026 Opening Day starter, established himself as one of the top starters in the Majors in 2025. For the season, he was 12-9 in 31 starts with a 2.43 ERA with 206 strikeouts in 185.1 innings of work.

Among AL starters, Brown ranked second in ERA and Quality Starts (21), third in strikeouts (206), fourth in WHIP (1.03) and fourth in pitch­ing WAR (4.8). For his efforts, he was named to his first All-Star team and finished third in the voting for the AL Cy Young Award. Brown also earned AL Pitcher of the Month honors for June (1.19 ERA, .130 opp. avg.). He also had a 28.0-in­ning scoreless inning streak in 2025.

TODAY’S POTENTIAL RELIEVERS: RHP Bryan Abreu, RHP J.P. France, RHP Hudson Leach, LHP Steven Okert, LHP Bennett Sousa, RHP Logan VanWey.  

ASTROS-NATS: Today is the third of six scheduled meetings between the Astros and Nationals this Spring. HOU is 0-1-1 thus far vs. WAS. The two clubs will meet in the regular season for a three-game series, July 6-8 in Washington.

ROSTER MOVES: This morning, the Astros reassigned IF Edwin Diaz and C Will Bush to minor league camp. The Astros now have 64 players in camp, including a full 40-man roster and 24 non-roster invites – 36 pitchers, seven catchers, 12 infielders and nine outfielders.

Game Info

Game Date/Time: Monday, March 2, 12:05 p.m. CST

Location: CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches, West Palm Beach, FL.

TV: No Local Broadcast

Streaming: MLB.tv (audio only)

Radio: KBME 790 AM/94.5 FM HD-2