Glover ready to pitch tonight, Ross to start Thursday

LOS ANGELES - When Koda Glover was unavailable to pitch Monday night against the Dodgers due to the fact he was - in manager Dusty Baker's words - "a little sore," it might have raised a few eyebrows among Nationals fans.

It doesn't appear you have anything to be worried about, though. Glover's arm was indeed sore, and he informed the coaching staff shortly before gametime he needed the night off. But the rookie reliever said it was simply a case of his arm not being ready to come back and pitch one day after he threw 22 pitches in Oakland.

"I'm good," Glover said this afternoon. "Just threw too many pitches the other day."

Glover has dealt with an on-and-off hip injury since last fall but that wasn't the culprit in this case. It was the reliever's unusual outing in which he entered with two outs in the eighth with the Nationals leading by two runs, pitched out of a jam, then sat around while his teammates extended their lead to seven runs in the top of the ninth, only to let five straight batters reach base in the bottom of the inning before giving way to Shawn Kelley.

With their burgeoning closer unavailable Monday night, the Nationals had to turn to a committee of relievers to finish off a 4-2 win over the Dodgers. Enny Romero pitched both the seventh and eighth innings. Matt Albers recorded the first two outs of the ninth. Then Oliver Pérez struck out Yasmani Grandal for the final out and his first save in four years.

Baker hadn't yet checked with Glover this afternoon, but the manager expected to have him available if needed.

"I've got him down today," Baker said. "Hopefully the day off will help him."

* Joe Ross has been named Thursday's starter for the Nationals' makeup game against the Orioles, providing the struggling right-hander another opportunity to get himself on track.

Ross will enter that outing with a 7.34 ERA and 1.663 WHIP in six big league starts. In his last two games combined, he has allowed 12 runs and 18 hits in only seven innings, including a ragged performance Saturday afternoon in Oakland, his hometown.

The Nationals have demoted Ross to Triple-A Syracuse twice this season, hoping that would help him resolve mechanical issues that have lowered both his arm slot and his velocity, but for now they intend to give him a chance to figure it out at the big league level.

Baker's advice for Ross now?

"Just don't fight himself. Be natural," the manager said. "And not try quite so hard. Just try less. As a young pitcher, you're trying to find out who you are. Are you a contact pitcher? A strikeout pitcher? Just pitch to the situation. It's not like Joe's a rookie, but he's not a veteran, either.

"Don't pay attention to the radar gun. Don't pay attention to the arm slot. Cause you can't pay attention to all that and pitch at the same time. You pay attention to that during your bullpen sessions and throwing on the side. When the game starts, you've got to junk it, so to speak. But at the same time, you've got to use your brain on what to do and when to use it."

* Sammy Solís continues to rehab at the Nationals' spring training complex in West Palm Beach, but there's no updated timetable for the left-hander (who has nerve inflammation in his elbow) to proceed from there and pitch in minor league games.