Werth keeps rolling to 38th birthday, teammates take notice

ATLANTA - Veteran left fielder Jayson Werth was born on this date, May 20, 1979. He turns 38 today and is still rolling along at a successful rate.

Right fielder Bryce Harper says he respects the way Werth goes about his business each season.

"Definitely a lot of guys on this team can learn from that and learn the type of way to go about it and the way he takes care of his body," Harper noted. "What he eats and what he puts in it. Gets the job done. Works out every single day and works hard to get on the field every single day. It's got to be tough being 37, 38 years old and trying to do that. A lot of respect and a lot of props to him for doing it that way and I can't wait to see what he can do the rest of the year."

Manager Dusty Baker affectionately referred to Werth as "grandpa." Harper believes the younger players, including himself, want to be able to play like the veteran when they get to that age.

"He's definitely one of our leaders in here," Harper said. "Going about it the right way every single day. I try to learn from him the best I can every single day. A lot of fun watching play and hopefully he can keep it going."

Werth is hitting .298 in 34 games with an on base percentage of .401. He has four doubles, six homers and 12 RBIs.

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Center fielder Michael A. Taylor showcased his offense and defense in Friday's opener in Atlanta. Taylor went 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored. His batting average is now .279. His outfield assist nabbed Dansby Swanson trying to score, keeping the game tied at 4-4.

Baker is thrilled with the way Taylor is coming along.

"He's getting hits and he's throwing people out and he's playing good defense so he's doing his thing," Baker said. "It's hard to find a shining light in a loss like this, especially when you lose them late. That's what we've been doing we've been losing them late."

Taylor said he thought at first that he had charged the ball too hard, but still was able to get Swanson thanks to a great catch and tag from Matt Wieters.

"Maybe a little too hard," Taylor thought. "I felt like I didn't get the best throw off but I was just trying to cut down some of the distance, and then stay on top of the ball and keep it down."

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Left-hander Gio Gonzalez had to throw 40 pitches in the first two innings but settled in to keep the game tied, going 5 2/3 innings and allowing four runs on nine hits.

"We managed to get a couple innings in there," Gonzalez said of the early going. "We managed to get pretty deep in the game try to hold up as much as they can from trying to use up most of the bullpen. It was a battle."

Gonzalez described the home runs allowed to Swanson and Matt Kemp.

"Just couple pitches, I think the home run was just first pitch fastball right-center cut, just took it, and then I think the next one was 0-1 fastball, just early on all it was," Gonzalez said.

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At the end of his postgame media gathering, Baker said he didn't know off the top of his head of any quick fixes in the minors that could help the bullpen right now.

"I don't know, I'm not in the minor leagues," Baker said. "All I can do is see reports and people upstairs keeping track on the minors. I see reports, but I can't really tell you that."

Veteran Joe Nathan has pitched pretty consistently for Triple-A Syracuse. The 42-year-old right-hander has not allowed an earned run in seven straight appearances, striking out nine batters and walking only three during the streak. He has four saves in four attempts in 14 appearances this season.