Big Leagues

When Jake Fox was taken off the Orioles' 40-man roster June 1, he assumed he would be gone from the organization and would land a shot with another club. But no one claimed him off waivers, so he returned to Triple-A Norfolk, a bit surprised but undaunted. "I didn't think there was a possibility of coming back," said Fox, who made the club out of spring training after smashing 10 exhibition homers but batted .188 in 19 games in the regular season before his demotion. "I knew going down there, I was just going to go and play and have fun playing because that's what I want to do. I want to play, and I want to get in a lineup every day. " Despite spending parts of four seasons in the majors, Fox, 29, said he kept a positive attitude and played whenever and wherever the Tides needed him. He ended up batting .274 with 12 homers and 57 RBIs in 67 games with Norfolk, which earned him a call-up Tuesday to replace infielder Blake Davis , who was demoted to Triple-A on Monday night.

The Orioles have been searching for weeks for a strong performance by a young starter, and they received it Tuesday night from an unheralded source against an unforgiving offense. Yet it didn't matter because the Orioles once again couldn't take advantage of their own offensive opportunities in a 4-2 loss to the Texas Rangers. Right-hander Mitch Atkins, making his Orioles debut and his first big league start, allowed just one run in six innings and left with his new team leading 2-1. But Orioles reliever Jim Johnson, who has been excellent much of the season, gave up three runs (two earned)

When he was demoted to the minor leagues May 28 for the fourth time in less than two full seasons, Brad Bergesen was given two specific things to work on: limiting his pitch count and improving his slider. The 25-year-old right-hander apparently made enough strides in those areas to be recalled from Triple-A Norfolk on Saturday in place of reliever Jeremy Accardo , who was designated for assignment after another poor outing Friday. Bergesen pitched two scoreless innings in relief in the Orioles' 4-2 loss to the Washington Nationals, allowing one hit and striking out one. His performance was an important one for a bullpen that has been taxed in recent games.

Brian Matusz walked into the home clubhouse at Camden Yards on Monday afternoon and smiled broadly when he overheard a conversation about the amateur draft that was set to begin in three hours. "I remember that day," Matusz said. With much of the night's focus on whom the Orioles would select with the fourth overall pick in this year's draft, the club's most recent first-round choice to make the big leagues pitched well enough to give his team a chance to win, but his performance did little to squelch persistent questions about his velocity.

Chris Jakubauskas will start Tuesday's game against the Oakland Athletics at Camden Yards, the first time he has started in the majors since April 2010, when he was carted off the field after getting hit in the head with a liner. This one is expected to go a little more smoothly. "Obviously, there's going to be a bunch made out of what I did in my last start in the big leagues, but I'm ready to go," said Jakubauskas, who is 0-0 with a 6.39 ERA in five relief appearances for the Orioles this year.

The smiles flashed throughout the visiting clubhouse at Safeco Field, from Brian Matusz, who was solid in his 2011 big league debut, from Adam Jones, who again tormented his former team with the game-winning home run and a game-saving catch, and from Nick Markakis, whose first professional game at first base passed without incident. Desperate for something to feel good about, some positive to take back from an otherwise miserable West Coast swing, the Orioles on Wednesday afternoon received an encouraging outing from Matusz, the 24-year-old left-hander expected to be one of the rotation's anchors for years to come.

Most of the memories I have of William Donald Schaefer, you can't print. But the things he needs to be remembered for are the Orioles and the Ravens. When he wanted to build Camden Yards and the football stadium, people all over the state said don't build two stadiums. If he hadn't figured out a way to keep it from going to referendum, people all over the state would have voted against two stadiums in Baltimore City. His own advisers said, "Do not put a baseball stadium in downtown Baltimore.

Jim Hoey made his major league debut with the Orioles against the Minnesota Twins at Camden Yards in August 2006. Flash forward more than four years, past 35 primarily nondescript relief appearances, a shoulder injury, an exhausting rehabilitation and a trade. On Monday, Hoey finally made it back to the majors for the first time since September 2007. Again, he was at Camden Yards, this time pitching for the Twins against the Orioles. "Coming back was ironic," said Hoey, who was promoted to help fill the Twins' late-inning void now that former closer Joe Nathan has been put in lower-pressure situations.

By the time Chris Tillman learned he was officially pitching Sunday's third game of the season, pretty much everyone he knew had already heard the news. Tillman, the Orioles' 22-year-old right-hander, went fishing one last time this spring Wednesday afternoon and didn't see the text from pitching coach Mark Connor until about four hours after it was sent. By that time, Tillman's phone was jammed with well wishes from those who had read the news online. He and fellow righty Brad Bergesen were in limbo this week, assuming they had made the Opening Day roster but not knowing who would pitch in which role.

In his fourth outing of the spring, Orioles left-hander Brian Matusz showed signs of the young pitcher that dominated at the end of last season. Facing a Minnesota Twins lineup that featured just two regulars on Friday night, Matusz turned in the longest big-league outing this spring by an Orioles starter in the Twins' 3-2 win. Matusz lasted 4 2/3 innings, allowing six hits, no walks and one run — a solo homer to Matt Tolbert in the...