Werth makes adjustment with hands as he attempts to get his timing back

Nationals left fielder Jayson Werth said Thursday he is trying to get his timing back at the plate, which is normal for hitters in spring training and more so for those coming off of surgery.

He swung his bat above his head during on-deck warmups and said his shoulder felt good after the game, but mornings are where soreness comes in and he will have to see these next few days how quickly he recovers.

He did give insight on some adjustments he's working on with his hands in the batting cage, and what he does to try to transfer that to in-game at-bats.

"Been kind of playing with my hands a little bit," Werth said. "That was the one thing that down there in those games in the minor leagues I was playing at. I was just a little jumpy, just trying to get my hands in the right spot.

"It seems like when I take flips and cage work when I have my hands up, it doesn't feel as good, the timing doesn't feel as good. So I put them back down, that feels good in the cage. But when I get in the game, it is the opposite."

Werth said the hand adjustment worked in practice, but during games, he decided to revert back to a familiar setting on the bat. In his third at-bat versus Lynchburg, he lined a hot shot to a shifted center fielder in the right-center gap. It was a scorching shot only caught because of perfect defensive placement. It was his best swing of the night and displayed his strength and power after a walk and strikeout early in the game didn't allow him to cut loose.

"I put my hands back up. In that last at-bat, I had better timing. I fouled back that changeup early in the count and then I spit on the slider with two strikes. Elevated heater, I felt like he humped up on that pitch, too. That was the one I hit. Keep tinkering a little bit. But just got to find the slot, find the timing. That's the whole battle throughout the whole season."

Werth also talked about which bats he uses during these first few weeks of the season and why.

"I've been using the same bat that I would use this time of year - the bigger, heavier bat," Werth said. "I've even been swinging a normal BP bat, which is even heavier. I haven't had any real setbacks. I've had some uncomfortable mornings. Some discomfort. But then it loosens up as the day goes on."

It looks like Werth will look to play a full nine innings tonight in Game 2 of rehab from Woodbridge for the P-Nats.

"They keep telling me I'm ahead of schedule," Werth said. "Which I guess is good, but I feel like I'm really close for what it's worth. (But) these decisions aren't made by me. I just tell them how I feel and they tell me what to do."