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Washington Nationals' outfielder Jayson Werth came up with the bases loaded and two out in Sunday afternoon's series finale with the Philadelphia Phillies, with the Nats trailing 4-3, and sent a low liner back up the middle for a walk-off single that gave the Nationals a 5-4 win and sweep of the three-game set in the nation's capital.
Werth, 37, in his 14th major league season, has been slowly building back up to player he's said since this winter he still thinks he can be.
Over his last 20 games, after a slow start to the season, the veteran outfielder has put up a .293/.346/.507 line with four doubles and four home runs in 81 plate appearances.
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On the year, he's up to a .245/.310/.446 line, after finishing April with a .211/.293/.437 line. Werth talked to MASN's Dan Kolko on the field after the game. He was asked about the ninth-inning matchup with Phillies' closer Jeanmar Gomez.
"This time of day it's tough to see," Werth said, "so I wanted to see a pitch. I got a strike call on the second strike and I knew I had to battle with that, he stayed with the fastball and we got him. We got him!"
Nats' skipper Dusty Baker told reporters he was hoping Werth stayed within himself and just did what was necessary to win it.
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"Jayson, no matter how he's playing he's been a clutch man all these years and clutch men know how to come through and clutch men love to be in that situation and then when got 2-2, we were all saying, 'Base hit up the middle. Base hit up the middle.' Because that's the biggest hole in the park. Keep the ball out of the air, we don't need a home run, we just need a base hit and that's what Jayson did. That was a huge win for us."
Asked for his thought process at the plate, Werth, once again, left MASN's Kolko dumfounded with his answer.
"I'm just trying to go brain-dead up there," Werth said with a laugh. "That's what dreams are made of! Let's go!"
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