Sitting at his locker after the Washington Nationals’ 5-2 win Thursday night, Jayson Werth was the kind of calm that has not been pervasive outside of the Nationals’ clubhouse during a bumpy start. Werth is 35 years old. This is his 13th season. He’s not prone to being a reactionary during the second week of a season.
“We’ll be fine,” Werth said. “Just got to keep going. Play the game we’re accustomed to playing. I think Denard [Span] is getting close. I think [Anthony Rendon] is feeling better, too. Get everybody back, will definitely help. We’ve got some guys trying as hard as they can.”
Span, it appears, is getting close. He was 3-for-4 Thursday night during his seven innings with Single-A Hagerstown. He hit a solo home run and felt fine in the field, according to Nationals manager Matt Williams. Hagerstown’s web site is already touting Span’s second expected start Friday night. Grab the Cracker Jack, bring the kids. Not to mention this:
The first 500 fans 21 and older coming to Municipal Stadium tomorrow night, and Saturday evening, will receive a specialty Suns mug presented by Traveler Beer Company. The mug will entitle fans to beer discounts at Municipal Stadium throughout the season.
Span set a new Nationals record with 184 hits in 2014. He had sports hernia surgery in December, then a second surgery to repair an abdominal muscle in March. He believes the two injuries were related.
Span began the season on the 15-day disabled list and was eligible to return Saturday.
“We’ll see how he wakes up and get him back out there [Friday],” Williams said.
In Span’s absence, Michael Taylor has played in center field. He’s shown range and speed in the outfield, plus power at the plate. He’s also shown a propensity to strike out (14 strikeouts in 39 at-bats) and has had issues in center. Thursday, he was charged with his first error after dropping a fly ball that ended up behind him before hitting his glove. Taylor was so displeased with the error, his second home run of the season was not even a salve.
“It’s nice to get that hit, it didn’t make me feel any better,” Taylor said.
His misadventures in the outfield during the prior series in Fenway Park didn’t lead to an official error, but were part of the Nationals’ multiple fielding issues. The team was better Thursday night. Taylor still had the one problem.
“There’s no excuse for what happened out there, tonight or the last few nights,” Taylor said. “It’s inexcusable.”
• Todd Dybas can be reached at tdybas@washingtontimes.com.
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