FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Two consecutive starts for Jeff Reboulet last week have been followed by two straight days on the bench, as the Orioles continue to move cautiously in his recovery from tendinitis in his left heel. So cautiously that there's a chance he could join Delino DeShields on the disabled list when the club heads north.

Manager Ray Miller said he'll start Reboulet today and rest him the next two days before playing him again Wednesday. The club has its only off day on Thursday, and Miller will see how the heel responds.

Reboulet is projected as the starting second baseman on Opening Day because of DeShields' fractured thumb, but Miller conceded for the first time yesterday that Reboulet could go on the DL if his condition doesn't improve.

"It's getting better, but it's a little bit of a setback every time he plays, so maybe if we give him two days in between, I still have eight days after that to see if he can play every day," Miller said.

The DL would be an option "if it doesn't get any better before we get [to Baltimore]," said Miller, who also must contend with not having a backup at shortstop besides Cal Ripken if Reboulet is starting at second.

Reboulet said he felt fine during Wednesday's game, but had some discomfort after running sprints in the outfield.

"That didn't go so well. That was the thing that kind of made it sore. I don't think I'll be running too many sprints now," he said.

Reboulet played four innings in the next game before taking Friday off while the club traveled to Jupiter.

"It was a little sore when I played the next day so they decided to give me two days to rest," he said. "I was supposed to play [yesterday], but they decided on their own to give me an extra day. But I feel pretty good."

He's hitting even better. Reboulet is among the club leaders with a .357 average (5-for-14) with three walks.

Garcia shines at short

Jesse Garcia has been playing mostly at second base this spring, but Miller started him at shortstop yesterday in the Orioles' 3-2 victory over Los Angeles. Jerry Hairston started at second, and the duo were in sync from the first ground ball.

Garcia participated in five double plays, starting one of them with a sliding backhanded stop in the hole. Hairston turned three of them, holding his ground at second and demonstrating a strong arm and quick release.

"There was a question whether Garcia can play shortstop. Well, I don't think there's any question now," Miller said.

Garcia said he got "a feel" for playing shortstop in Australia last winter. He certainly looked comfortable there yesterday.

"I told them, 'You want me to play center field, I'll play center field. Whatever. It doesn't matter to me,' " Garcia said.

Linton answers late call

Doug Linton came to the ballpark yesterday expecting to do nothing. He had pitched Wednesday and had thrown in the bullpen two days later, so his work was done.

Or was it?

Linton was told about 1 1/2 hours before the game that he would be starting because of Scott Kamieniecki's tight hamstring. "I was shocked," he said.

He could have panicked, too, considering he didn't have his good stuff and is fighting for a job after signing a minor-league contract. But Linton gutted out three innings, blanking the Dodgers on one hit.

"This was my first emergency start and I wasn't as strong as I had been in the 'pen, so I had to hit my spots and change speeds," said Linton, who has given up three hits over eight scoreless innings in his comeback from "Tommy John" surgery in 1997.

Linton also survived another line drive to his right foot, this one catching him on the heel. He's pitching with a broken toe, the result of a liner by Todd Hundley.

Yesterday's shot from Eric Karros leading off the second inning "hit me six inches from the toe," Linton said, grinning.

The smile may never come off if he makes the club, but the odds continue to favor Mike Fetters, who got the save yesterday with a scoreless ninth. Fetters hasn't allowed a run in six innings, and Miller said before the game that he rated the veteran right-hander "just a little ahead" of Linton and David Evans. "But not much."

If Linton is sent to Triple-A Rochester, he would be the first pitcher summoned if a need develops. And if a spot opened sooner, Miller said Linton is "very close" to being the choice.

No run-of-Mills foe

Alan Mills wasn't sure anyone would remember him when he arrived with the Dodgers yesterday. He couldn't have been more wrong.

Bullpen coach Elrod Hendricks was waiting for Mills as he walked out of the clubhouse. Players rushed over to hug him or offer their own personalized greeting, like the full nelson from Lenny Webster or a similar attack from behind by Jesse Orosco. There also was the same sparring with Ripken that often took place in the Orioles' clubhouse during his seven seasons in Baltimore.

The mood, however, grew more serious in the seventh when Mills entered the game. He retired the first two batters, then walked Brady Anderson and Hairston. On the verge of surrendering his first run in seven innings, Mills retired Tommy Davis on a grounder.

This was Mills' first appearance against his former club since signing a three-year, $6.5 million contract with the Dodgers over the winter.

"It's been a change, but it's just something you've got to adapt to. That's what the game is all about. You've got to be able to adapt," he said.

"With the Orioles, changes were being made in the organization, as far as the general manager and things like that. I just think the time was bad for any free agent. You can only wait so long. A general manager coming in has to get a lot of things done that are priorities, and I don't think signing me was a priority. I'm just not that type of player.

"Am I disappointed? Sure. I was in Baltimore seven years. I met my wife there. It was a good situation for my family. But it just didn't work out for me. That's just the way it is. But I'm going to miss the guys. I wish everyone there well. I don't have any animosity toward anyone in the organization."