Belisle lands on DL with strained calf, Solis recalled

Unable to wait and see how severe Matt Belisle's calf injury is, with more fresh arms needed for their bullpen tonight, the Nationals have placed the veteran right-hander on the 15-day disabled list and recalled lefty Sammy Solis from Triple-A Syracuse.

Solis will be in uniform and available out of the Nationals bullpen for tonight's game against the Phillies, giving manager Dusty Baker a much-needed arm that can throw multiple innings in case something happens to starter Gio Gonzalez early on.

Belisle injured himself after throwing only three pitches last night, straining his right calf while trying to cover first base on an eighth-inning line drive to the right side. The 35-year-old dealt with the same injury over the winter - it occurred while trying to make a similar running move - and though he was hopeful last night of avoiding the DL, he was noticeably limping through the Nationals clubhouse.

"I think we have to really do what we did, which is tough, and make the right move," Belisle said. "Ice up - I don't know if we're going to get an (MRI) or not - let it calm down and determine tomorrow. Because nothing good could have come today. Tomorrow we'll have a really good idea."

The Nationals couldn't afford to wait long, though. With long man Yusmeiro Petit still only three days removed from a 77-pitch relief appearance and Max Scherzer having only gone six innings last night, Baker needed another fresh reliever for tonight's game.

Enter Solis, who was off to an impressive start in Syracuse. Through six relief appearances totaling nine innings, he allowed only one run on five hits, striking out 14 while walking three.

The 27-year-old left-hander had a 3.38 ERA in 18 appearances with the Nationals last season, his first in the big leagues.