Right fielder Jayson Werth was 0-for-8 in the first two games of the season. There were some that might have questioned whether his surgically repaired wrist was not quite 100 percent just yet.
On Thursday at Nationals Park, Werth crushed a three-run homer to left field that erased many of those doubts, lifting the Nationals to a 6-1 win and a series sweep of the Marlins.
"I think you guys are a little but more worried about my wrist than anybody else," Werth said, speaking to reporters. "I feel pretty confident in where I am at in training this winter. I know I said at Fan Fest I am still gaining strength. In spring training, I said it needed to be tested a little bit. And now here we are in the season and I am saying we will see how it goes as the season goes on."
Manager Davey Johnson said if a hit can alleviate thoughts of an early season problem, even for one game, Werth's mammoth blast was the answer, and it put the game away.
"Yeah, he got all of that one didn't he?" Johnson said. "He wasn't really happy (the) first couple games about the way he was swinging because he was really swinging good coming out of spring training. He swung really good on that one. So I think he is fine."
Werth hopes the homer helps him get going after a disjointed schedule didn't allow for normal routines to come into play.
"It is funny, you start the season off you get two days off and you have opening day and then you have another day off," Werth said. "It feels like today is the first real day of the season."
"Rhythm is really the toughest thing to grab hold of this time of year. I started feeling a little bit better today in BP. As the game went on, I felt like I had my rhythm. It showed up there at the end."
His team could not have started the season with a better initial three games, outscoring the Marlins 11-1 and smacking four home runs. Werth is an example of what this lineup, one through nine, could be capable of consistent production.
"I feel good and I feel strong," Werth said. "I had a good winter. I am looking forward to this season. We have a really good club. I really enjoy playing with these guys."
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