Dusty Baker wound up a winner in his spring training debut as Washington’s manager when the Nationals roughed up top Tampa Bay Rays pitching prospect Blake Snell for a 6-2 victory in Port Charlotte, Fla., on Wednesday.
Baker last managed with Cincinnati in 2013. He made the 3½-hour drive across Florida for the Nationals’ exhibition opener.
“It’s best to get this one out of the way now. I saw parts of Florida I hadn’t seen,” Baker said. “But that’s OK. I came through my dad’s old hometown of Lakeland. I’ve only been there twice in my life, so I kind of felt the spirit of my dad coming through there.