masn-baseballs-orioles.jpgBOSTON – Miguel Gonzalez threw a light bullpen session today and said he felt good. No issues related to the right groin strain that forced him out of Sunday’s game in Toronto.

Gonzalez said he’s ready to start for the Orioles on Saturday if given the ball. That decision is pending.

Manager Buck Showalter may announce his starter later this afternoon. Bud Norris also is a consideration.

Reliever Darren O’Day, who hasn’t pitched since Sept. 7, is available tonight out of the…BOSTON – Miguel Gonzalez threw a light bullpen session today and said he felt good. No issues related to the right groin strain that forced him out of Sunday’s game in Toronto.

Gonzalez said he’s ready to start for the Orioles on Saturday if given the ball. That decision is pending.

Manager Buck Showalter may announce his starter later this afternoon. Bud Norris also is a consideration.

Reliever Darren O’Day, who hasn’t pitched since Sept. 7, is available tonight out of the bullpen.

“Good. Good to go,” said O’Day, who received a cortisone injection to alleviate the inflammation that caused discomfort in the index and middle fingers on his right hand.

“I don’t have any pain when I throw. That was the problem. I had pain in my fingers when I was throwing. It’s a lot better. Threw a pretty normal bullpen the other day, and considering the time of the year, that’s a quick comeback, but I feel confident that I can pitch well.”

O’Day said the pain surfaced “three weeks to a month” ago.

“Just small stuff. Little things,” he said. “Over the course of a season, little things hurt and go away, so you give it time to do that. But mine got progressively worse and we had to do something about it.

“It was kind of carpal tunnel, compression of the nerve in the wrist. And the same tendon was irritated and causing discomfort in my middle finger. There’s some technical name for it.”

There was a point where O’Day feared that his season was ending.

“Yeah. We didn’t know what it was,” he said. “The medical staff did a good job of looking at the most serious stuff first – blood clot, stuff like that – and we got right on top of that. That was all clear, which was good. Then, it just kind of became a mystery. Stayed persistent and figured out what it was and it feels better now.

“Obviously, you don’t want to think anything serious. It’s a long life. We have a long life. We play baseball for maybe a quarter of that, at the most. You’ve got to worry about the important stuff first.”

O’Day arrived in Boston yesterday afternoon from Sarasota, but Showalter held him out of the 12-inning game. O’Day said he’s ready tonight.

“If it were early in the season, I’d probably need a rehab appearance or something, but it’s September,” he said. “I’ve been pitching for six months now. It’s go time, an important time, so you’ve got to be ready to go.”