VERO BEACH, Fla. -- After a slow start that had doubters discounting his chances, Japanese third baseman Norihiro Nakamura is heating up as he searches for a roster spot.

Nakamura slugged his first Dodgers home run in Sunday's 7-2 win over Florida, and a single to center produced his third consecutive two-hit game. Hitting .100 after 10 spring at-bats, Nakamura is now hitting .350 (7-for-20) after implementing a tweak in his stance at the suggestion of hitting coach Tim Wallach.

"We put his hands in a better spot to start the bat, and he's quicker to the ball," said Wallach. "He's excited. He knew he'd have to make adjustments and he's done it fairly quick and fairly easy. The aptitude is there. He's a different guy than three or four days ago, and he's excited. It's relaxed him a bit. He's got confidence in what he's doing, but it doesn't surprise me. He's had a lot of success."

Nakamura's home run off Florida starter Les Walrond on an 0-2 fastball cleared the palm trees in left field.

"That ball was crushed," said manager Jim Tracy. "[Nakamura] has tremendous power. You don't do what he's done over there by accident or mistake."

It won't be easy for Nakamura to make the club as it now stands. With Jose Valentin the starting third baseman, it was believed Nakamura would compete with Antonio Perez as the backup. But Perez is out of options and virtually has the job as the lone back-up middle infielder. Nakamura probably would need to beat out Olmedo Saenz as the primary right-handed pinch-hitter and back-up corner infielder.

Saenz has a guaranteed $650,000 contract, while Nakamura has a $500,000 minor league contract.

Nakamura, who hit 307 home runs in 13 Japanese seasons, said the first home run as a Dodger eased his mind.

"It's a feeling I thought I'd forgotten, but it came back to me," he said. "Home run power is something I want to show that I have in my game. I feel more relaxed about everything."

It wasn't a perfect day for the four-time Gold Glove winner, who committed a throwing error. He will make the trip to Viera to play Washington Monday.

Gagne update: Eric Gagne's knee didn't feel great after his bullpen session Saturday, but he will have another chance Monday as he continues to recover from a sprained left knee. Gagne threw 32 pitches Saturday and appeared to be limping a little Sunday.

"It's there," Gagne said of the injury. "I'll throw the bullpen tomorrow. I need to test it. If it's bad, I might as well find out now."

News and features: • Notes: Dodgers regroup as season nears • Angels beat Dodgers • Dodgers notes: No rush for Gagne
Multimedia: • Spring Training gallery: March 5 • Spring Training gallery: March 5 • Ken Gurnick on Gagne's injury
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Roster cuts: Tracy said he would trim "in the neighborhood" of 10 players Monday morning, focusing on young players. The Dodgers currently have 59 players in camp.

Game recaps: In the morning "B" game, Wilson Alvarez pitched three shutout innings, but Elmer Dessens retired only one of six batters he faced and was charged with five runs. Dessens was slowed early in camp by a strained calf muscle.

In the "A" game, Jeff Kent slugged a three-run homer before Nakamura's two-run shot, and Derek Lowe became the first Dodgers hurler to pitch five innings, allowing his first run of the spring.

Tracy, however, still would not name his Opening Day starter.

Ross hangs in there: Since the start of Spring Training, the Dodgers have watched the emergence of young catchers Dioner Navarro and Russell Martin. And David Ross, the incumbent, is 0-for-13 amid speculation he might not even make the team as the younger complement to veteran Paul Bako.

Ross knows he's got a fight on his hands to keep his job. He also knows that stressing out over a numbers game won't help.

"Obviously, it's on my mind. I'm not stupid," said the club player representative. "But if I look at it as a battle, especially with the results I've had so far, and start watching what the other guys are doing, I'm worrying about the wrong thing. I can't worry about hits other people get. That would only mess me up.

"I'm catching well, and my approach at the plate is better, I just don't have much to show for it so far. I know that I've done the job defensively and, in 2003, I proved I could hit. I know what I can do at the plate and I just have to get back to it."

Sweet Lou update: Lou Johnson, hospitalized Saturday with chest and stomach pains, was released from the hospital Sunday and returned to Dodgertown. No conclusive diagnosis was made and Johnson might need further testing. The former outfielder is a member of the club's speaker's bureau and community relations department.

Overlooked: It was just a name -- Dannemiller -- at the bottom of a box score. But the one perfect inning tossed Saturday by 25-year-old Beau Dannemiller represented his personal moment of achievement.

Dannemiller has never pitched above Class A, but he got the ball for the 11th inning Saturday and he knew what to do, throwing strikes in a 1-2-3 debut on stage in front of the brass. Pretty heady stuff for a right-hander who is under the radar, even though he allowed only 47 hits in 73 2/3 innings last year at Vero Beach.

"It was wonderful, everything I expected," said Dannemiller, a minor league Rule 5 Draft pick from the Rockies. "I played here last year and today I'm pitching in front of the big league staff. That's pretty amazing. I'm so happy, I can't wait to get back and tell my wife.

"I've wondered what this day would be like ever since I knew what baseball was. I wanted this so bad. When I called my dad last night to tell him I was dressing for the Major League game, he cried on the phone. Wait until I tell him how I did."

Dannemiller was a 16th-round pick by Colorado who sat out a season before signing.

"I laid concrete floors in factories. It was hard work, and it taught me a lesson -- to appreciate the fact that I can play baseball and get paid, even if it's minor league pay," he said. "I wouldn't trade any of that."

Coming up: Edwin Jackson, Mike Venafro, Duaner Sanchez, Yhency Brazoban and Buddy Carlyle are scheduled to pitch for the Dodgers on Monday in Viera against Washington's Tomo Ohka. Oscar Robles will make the trip. The veteran of five years in the Mexican League had an RBI single Sunday in two at-bats, lowering his average to .583 (7-for-12).