I mean he's returned to the rotation. He's not experiencing back pain. Brad Bergesen allowed one hit in a scoreless first inning, throwing nine of his 17 pitches for strikes. Bergesen fell behind 3-1 to the leadoff hitter, Andrew McCutchen, and 3-0 to Bobby Crosby before retiring them on bouncers to short. Garrett Jones fell behind 0-2 before lining a double to right-center field, the ball glancing off Adam Jones' glove as he dived for it. Ryan Doumit bounced to second on a 1-1...

Brad Bergesen was removed with one in the second inning and the Orioles leading, 3-1. Steve Pearce lined Bergesen's 35th pitch into left field for a single, bringing manager Dave Trembley from the dugout. The last three batters reached on a walk, Pedro Alvarez's RBI double to right-center field and Pearce's single, which put runners on the corners. Luis Lebron has entered the game. Bergesen's velocity looked good. He didn't have pinpoint control, but I wasn't expecting it. He gave up...

Jason Berken retired six of the seven batters he faced, including a strikeout. He allowed a two-out single to Ryan Doumit in the third. Mark Hendrickson replaced him in the fifth with the Orioles leading, 3-2. Berken hasn't surrendered a run in three appearances covering four innings this spring. Brad Bergesen's shoulder felt good tonight. No problem with the shin, either. He just couldn't throw enough strikes and had difficulty slowing his tempo. "I would have liked to have been a...

...Rhyne Hughes is your leadoff hitter. Hughes replaced Felix Pie in left field, and atop the order. He came to the plate with runners on the corners and none out in the seventh and struck out. Hughes has four hits in 11 at-bats, with three homers, six RBIs and four runs scored. He's also struck out five times. Manager Dave Trembley made wholesale changes in the bottom of the sixth. Jeff Salazar went to right field, and he opened the top of the seventh by drawing a walk off left-hander...

Matt Albers stranded the tying run at second base to pick up the save. Great job by the bullpen with 7 2/3 scoreless innings (Luis Lebron let an inherited runner score after replacing Brad Bergesen). "We pitched real well," manager Dave Trembley said. "Bergesen in the first inning was very good with the ground balls. Second inning, he got underneath some pitches. But we got his pich count up. Hendrickson was good, Ohman was good. We had very good pitching tonight. "Mickolio let it go,...

What's better than one night game this week? Try two of them. We're going back-to-back with tonight's trip to Fort Myers, where the Orioles play the Minnesota Twins. Kevin Millwood will try to erase his first start from our minds. The Tigers sent 11 batters to the plate, and Millwood allowed six runs and seven hits in two-thirds of an inning. Millwood said he was working on his changeup in counts that normally would dictate that he throw a different pitch. I'll buy that. But if I'm...

I also considered, "You can Luke, but you better not touch." The Orioles have added a B-squad game to their exhibition schedule at 10 a.m. Sunday in Bradenton. They also play the Phillies at 1:05 p.m. in Sarasota. No further details are available at the moment, but it's one way to get more innings and at-bats for certain players. And speaking of at-bats, Luke Scott doesn't want to collect them as the designated hitter. He's made that point pretty clear. He wants to play in the field...

The independent York Revolution has signed former Orioles pitcher Matt Riley, the once-troubled phenom who's trying to make a comeback after being out of baseball last year. Says so right here. Riley has blown out his elbow three times. He underwent two ligament-reconstructive procedures and reportedly tried experimental prolotherapy injections in 2006 to avoid a third surgery. Hasn't everyone? Riley was one of my favorite players to cover, but mostly because he was willing to address any...

As I sit in the press box at Hammond Stadium, I'm reminded that it's supposed to rain tonight. That's because the top of my head just brushed against a gray cloud. We're pretty high up. And the clouds are pretty gray. The wind is strong enough to lift the batting cage and carry it to the Red Sox's complex down the road. Popups will be an adventure tonight. But so far, no rain. Is it a bad sign that a bee stung manager Dave Trembley while he spoke to reporters in front of the visiting...

Does Kevin Millwood have a fifth pitch? OK, seriously, he gave up a run and two hits in the first inning, but he induced a double-play bouncer from Justin Morneau and returned to the dugout after throwing 14 pitches (nine for strikes). That's much better than his debut, when he allowed six runs and seven hits to the Tigers in two-thirds of an inning. Denard Span lined a single into right field and stole second to immediately put Millwood in a bind. Orlando Hudson struck out, with catcher...