WASHINGTON – Byung Ho Park dressed quickly Friday. He was one of the first players in the Twins dugout, where he stood and watched the Nationals take batting practice. Friday's 4-3 spring training loss at Nationals Park was the first time he had ever swung a bat in an American major league stadium, and he was clearly taking it all in.

"Biggest stadium," he nodded, gesturing toward the 41,000-capacity seating bowl. "Bigger than Korea."

But the South Korean slugger should have no problem fitting in to his new surroundings, manager Paul Molitor said.

"The regular season is different for everybody. For him, it's going to be a change — these ballparks, the atmosphere, day in and day out the quality of pitching he's going to see," Molitor said. "I don't think he's overly fazed by the size of the park. He commented to me the Korean parks aren't very good, period. I think he's going to enjoy playing in these parks."

Why D.C.?

The Twins normally close their spring schedule in Fort Myers, Fla., playing the Red Sox on the final couple of days, whether at Hammond Stadium or up the road at JetBlue Park.

But they got word late last summer that their usual matchup wouldn't be available. The Red Sox had been invited to Montreal to face the Blue Jays in a pair of games that sell 50,000 tickets apiece at Olympic Stadium.

Brian Wicker — Star Tribune, Star Tribune
Even though the Twins will use him primarily as a designated hitter, new slugger Byung Ho Park worked on his fielding at spring training.

That left few options for finishing close to home. Tampa Bay, which trains in nearby Port Charlotte, opens the season Sunday and didn't want to play Saturday. The Pirates, headquartered in Bradenton, had a game scheduled for Class AAA Indianapolis.

"We didn't want to play the Orioles [in Sarasota] because we open the season with them. And you don't want to take long bus rides at the end of camp," said Bill Smith, the former general manager who now is in charge of Twins scheduling. "So we were left without anyone local to play."

The Nationals had inquired a couple of years earlier about playing an exhibition game in Washington — they have wrapped up the spring in D.C. for the past five seasons — so Smith, mindful the Twins open the season in nearby Baltimore, gave them a call. It sounded good to the Nationals, too; they open the season in Atlanta, but their players appreciate a couple of days to get settled before Opening Day.

"We'll get a check out of it," Smith said, referring to a share of the gate. "But mostly, we wanted it because it works out perfect for us."

Molitor considers it perfect, too. "It transitions you well into your actual opener," he said. "I think everybody is happy for the change of scenery, a little bit more of a big-league atmosphere."

One more tuneup

Ricky Nolasco said he feels as good as he has in a while. Of course, he felt the same way on the eve of last season, and got hurt during his first start.

"I feel healthy, that's all that matters to me right now. I'm just trying to do everything I can between starts to stay as fresh as I can," said Nolasco, who on Tuesday was awarded a spot in the Twins rotation. "I want to try to avoid something like [last year]. I'll tighten some things up tomorrow, and be ready to go. I'm feeling really good about it."

Nolasco starts Saturday in the preseason finale, then waits a week for his regular-season debut, April 9 at Kansas City.