Jason Berken

CHICAGO -- It wasn't a surprise for Rich Hill, and it wasn't supposed to be a glimpse into the future either. Hill was informed before Friday's game that he might be used for an inning so he could face live hitters before his first start of the second half Tuesday at Yankee Stadium. When the Orioles fell behind the Chicago White Sox, 10-5, after Friday's sixth inning, Hill got the call to enter in the seventh - his first big league relief appearance since Aug. 15, 2006, when he was with the Chicago Cubs.

BOSTON - - When Orioles manager Dave Trembley decided to give slumping Aubrey Huff the day off in Sunday's series finale against the Boston Red Sox, he had a couple of options to fill Huff's cleanup spot. His decision to hit Nick Markakis there came down to one factor. "I went up to him today and said, 'I'm putting you in the four-slot because you're our best guy,' " Trembley said. "Look how he played." Hitting fourth for the first time this season and just the sixth time in his career, Markakis went 2-for-4 with a homer, double and three RBIs.

CHICAGO - - It is impossible to know how Orioles rookie starter David Hernandez would have reacted had he had a lead to protect after the top of the third inning. Perhaps it just wasn't going to be his night regardless and a couple of runs from his teammates weren't going to settle him down. But there was no disputing the impact the third inning had on Chicago White Sox starter John Danks. The left-hander survived major command issues to get out of a bases-loaded-and-one-out jam, and was a completely different pitcher the rest of the way in the White Sox's 4-1 victory over the Orioles on Saturday night in front of an announced 34,730 at U.S. Cellular Field.

MINNEAPOLIS - -Seeking to protect some of the organization's most prized commodities, Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail said he'll soon meet with manager Dave Trembley and pitching coach Rick Kranitz to devise a plan to limit the innings of some of the team's young starting pitchers. That could include shutting down one or two of the Orioles' prized rookies. "We have developed an innings range that we don't want these guys to go beyond, so we're going to have to craft the best way to deal with it," MacPhail said.

Based solely on win-loss record, the Orioles' minor league system took a tiny step backward this year. The organization's combined 367-390 mark for its seven primary affiliates was one game below its cumulative record in 2008. And, unlike last year, when the Double-A Bowie Baysox won their division, the Orioles had no affiliates make the playoffs this time. Only two of their farm teams, the Baysox (73-69) and the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League Orioles (30-26), posted records above .500 in 2009.

TORONTO — For one night, the Orioles got real comfortable in what has been their own house of horrors, turning the series opener against the Toronto Blue Jays into a glorified round of batting practice. On the other end of so many beating at the Rogers Centre, the Orioles delivered one of their own, pounding out four home runs and a season-high eight extra-base hits en route to a 12-4 rout Tuesday in front of an announced 17,477. The Orioles' fourth victory in Toronto in the past 29 games was all but secured by the middle innings when the visitors scored two runs in both the second and third innings, and then three runs in the both the fourth and fifth innings.

Buck Showalter's magical touch as Orioles manager finally met reality Saturday night at Camden Yards. Not a harsh reality, but at least a reminder of why he was brought to Baltimore in the first place. The Orioles squandered an early two-run lead and Kevin Millwood's best performance since early April -- if not the entire season -- to lose to the Chicago White Sox, 4-2, before an announced 24,129. After Millwood limited the White Sox to one run and four hits in six innings and left with a 2-1 lead, the Orioles' bullpen let him down, giving up single runs in each of the last three innings, the last after an error by rookie third baseman Josh Bell.

Orioles right fielder Nick Markakis , who is recovering from offseason abdominal surgery, participated in the team's first full-squad workout Friday at the Ed Smith Stadium complex, taking live outdoor batting practice as well as taking part in outfield fielding drills. Markakis said he's far from full strength but feels no pain swinging the bat. If anything, it's his lateral movement while fielding balls that needs improvement. "I know I'm not there, but [I'm] on schedule or maybe a little ahead of schedule, depending on how you look at it," Markakis said.

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.

After missing the final 1 1/2 months of last season with a tear in his right labrum, an injury that he chose to rehabilitate rather than have surgery on, Jason Berken figured the questions about his health wouldn't quickly go away. But as the Orioles reliever tries to work through a difficult stretch in which he had allowed runs in five of his past seven outings entering Thursday, he says he hasn't felt this good physically in a long time. "I don't pay a ton of attention to velocity because I think it's an overused tool at times, but at the beginning of the year, my velocity was in that 88 to 92 [mph]