O's Berken poised for major league debut

By Dan Connolly | dan.connolly@baltsun.com

5:34 PM EDT, May 26, 2009

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He might not have received an invitation to the Orioles' spring training camp, but Jason Berken's consolation prize is his first big league start tonight.

The Orioles announced Tuesday evening that Berken had been recalled from Triple-A Norfolk. He will slide into the rotation spot created by Adam Eaton's release. He is slated to start for the Orioles tonight against the Toronto Blue Jays, who will start Ricky Romero (2-0, 1.71).

Outfielder Lou Montanez, who was expected to have surgery Tuesday on his right thumb, was placed on the 15-day disabled list.

Berken, a 25-year-old right-hander, isn't considered one of the organization's top young pitchers - Baseball America lists him as the Orioles' 17th overall prospect and 11th-best pitcher - but he earned the promotion with a 1.05 ERA in five starts at Norfolk.

"When people ask me about the young guys or that core in the minor leagues right now, no one talks about his name, the reporters or anyone," said Orioles rookie pitcher Brad Bergesen, who played with Berken in 2007 and 2008. "But he is one guy I always try to mention because I think he has always been underestimated."

Berken was the Orioles' sixth-round pick in the 2006 amateur draft out of Clemson, where he helped the Tigers reach the College World Series a year after he had Tommy John surgery.

He has moved up one level each of his four seasons in the minors, compiling a 25-18 record and 3.74 ERA. He has struck out 319 batters and walked 104 in 375 1/3 career innings.

He has four pitches: fastball, slider, curveball and changeup.

Bergesen said he once saw Berken hit 97 mph on a stadium radar gun, but he consistently throws between 90 and 93.

"He pounds the strike zone, good slider, good changeup, and he just attacks it," Bergesen said.

"There's not one pitch that he throws that is jaw-dropping or anything out of the ordinary, but everything he does is solid, and he's got great mound presence," Bergesen said.

Roberts hopes to bounce back

Brian Roberts suffered a bruised left shin in a collision at second base with Toronto's Rod Barajas in the second inning and eventually left the game after tripling and scoring in the seventh.

"It got stiff and sore as the game moved on," Roberts said of the injury. "When you are running, you don't really think about it. When I stopped is when it hurt."

Roberts said he hopes to play tonight.

"Hopefully, I'll be ready to go," he said. "We'll see how it is in the morning when I wake up."

Sarfate eager to throw

Reliever Dennis Sarfate, who has been on the disabled list with a circulatory condition in his right middle finger since May 3, expects to begin throwing June 5 with hopes to be back in the majors by the end of June or early July.

He'll start by throwing catch at 90 feet and within a week or so should be able to throw off a mound. Sarfate, who hasn't had a reoccurrence of the lack of feeling in his finger, is antsy to begin throwing again.

"It's been tough watching the guys on TV, not going on the road with them," Sarfate said. "But I've got work to do. I've got to get better and hopefully, when I come back, everything will be fine."

Around the horn

Lefty Brian Matusz, the Orioles No. 1 pick last year who is pitching at Single-A Frederick, was in the Orioles' clubhouse Monday. The Keys had the day off, so he decided to come to Camden Yards. ... Roberts' triple marked the third consecutive game in which an Oriole has tripled. The last time that happened was May 2005, when the Orioles tripled in a club-record five straight games. ... The Orioles will wait to make a determination on their Thursday starter until after Koji Uehara (hamstring) throws a side session today.

Baltimore Sun reporter Jeff Zrebiec contributed to this article.