Glover "thrilled" to be back, has refined his breaking pitches

DENVER - The first time right-hander Koda Glover was up with the Nationals, he made a pair of appearances July 20-21 against the Dodgers. In two innings in those two games he allowed no runs on one hit with no walks and one strikeout.

It was a good debut for the 23-year-old from Monroe, Okla., but this time around manager Dusty Baker expects the responsibility to be much more intense.

Glover was called up after the Nationals placed left-hander Sammy Solis on the disabled list with left shoulder inflammation. That leaves just one southpaw in the bullpen for the Nats in the struggling Oliver Perez. Baker believes Glover can help in that spot to cover for Solis' absence. Glover has a 2.08 ERA against left-handed hitters this season in the minors. Over 8 2/3 innings against lefty batters, Glover has allowed two runs on five hits with no walks and eight strikeouts.

"I understand that Glover is pretty good at getting out lefties," Baker said. "We'll give him that opportunity. He got called up today. He's been throwing the ball well and he's a welcome sight."

And Glover would not have been called up if the Nationals didn't think that Glover could deliver in any leverage situation.

"Well, if I don't have confidence in you, you shouldn't be here," Baker said. "Try to put you in a situation where you're most likely to succeed. This is not a tryout and you're not here to paint. We're here to win ball games."

Glover found out last night and caught an early morning flight to get to Denver in time for today's matinee. He woke up at 4 a.m, and was running on adrenalin when I caught up with him in the clubhouse.

"I'm thrilled to be here but a little tired and out of it, but that'll all change once I get out there and get going," Glover said.

He has not allowed a run or a hit in four straight appearances at Triple-A Syracuse.

"I'm just trying to stay with what works," Glover said. "I'm going to ride that as long as I can until I need to make some adjustments and we'll go from there."

Syracuse pitching coach Bob Milacki focused on a couple of mechanical adjustments when Glover returned to Triple-A, focusing on his breaking pitches.

"(Milacki) kind of spotted some stuff out and we made a couple of adjustments and ended up working," Glover said. "I made a couple of minor adjustments, just kind of working on the curveball, and mixing in other pitches, not relying so much on my fastball.

"I think you got to make adjustments with anything. Going back down, I think was honestly beneficial to me. We'll see where it goes from here."

Glover said his hometown is still about a 12-hour drive from Denver, but he noticed the feel of being close to home when he got off the plane this morning in Colorado.

"It actually looks like Oklahoma for once, I actually see some mountains in the distant," Glover said. "A little prairie land and high grass."

At least for one day, then it's off to Atlanta.