Is today's lineup the same one we'll see on Opening Day?
The Rockies today will field what looks like their Opening Day lineup, sans the pitcher, against the Padres at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick.
That includes Justin Morneau, who hasn't played since Colorado's Cactus League opener on Feb. 28 due to a sore neck. Morneau went 0-for-2 with a strikeout against Diamondbacks starter Patrick Corbin and on Monday will have another chance at another one of the NL West's high-end hurlers in Andrew Cashner.
Cashner posted a 3.09 ERA in 175 innings of work for the Padres in 2013 and was particularly effective after being placed into the starting rotation roughly a month into the season. Opposing him for the Rockies will be Franklin Morales, who has been very good in two spring training appearances, tossing five scoreless innings while striking out six batters and walking two.
The only real question about this lineup compared to what we might see on Opening Day is whether or not Charlie Blackmon, who will lead off and play center field today, will be able to unseat Drew Stubbs for that role. A big day against an upper-echelon starter certainly couldn't hurt Blackmon in his quest to do that.