Orioles second baseman Jerry Hairston made consecutive starts for the first time since May 21-22, with manager Mike Hargrove keeping Brian Roberts on the bench again last night.

Coming off a 2-for-4 performance in Friday's victory over the Seattle Mariners, Hairston carried a modest four-game hitting streak into last night's matchup with right-hander James Baldwin. Hairston had hit safely in seven of his past eight games to raise his average to .252.

Called up from Triple-A Rochester on May 21, Roberts had started six of seven games before the Mariners arrived. He scored the winning run Friday after entering as a pinch runner in the 10th inning, but his heroics couldn't improve a .179 average.

Roberts is experiencing the same slow start that bogged down Hairston, who batted .156 through eight games. Hargrove stressed last week that the club remains patient with Roberts, but it's becoming more difficult to sit Hairston.

Before last night, he was batting .356 (16-for-45) over his past 14 games, including his first home run May 21 at Oakland. Hairston hadn't played since last Sunday until cracking Friday's lineup.

"The last couple times he's played, he's swung the bat better," Hargrove said. "Jerry is a good player and Jerry needs to play, but so does Brian Roberts."

Unable to hold the leadoff job, Hairston plummeted to ninth in the order before leaving it completely. His role changed, but not his cheery disposition.

"Jerry's handled this the way you would hope everybody else would in a similar situation," Hargrove said.

Singleton catching breath

Though able to make it through all 10 innings of Friday's game, Chris Singleton still hasn't fully recovered from the heat exhaustion that forced him to the trainer's room after two innings on Thursday.

Singleton said he's still bothered by some cramping in his abdominal muscles. He drank plenty of water yesterday and downed some salt tablets, the same routine that protected him from Friday's temperatures in the upper 80s. Last night's first pitch came in 93-degree heat.

"They're sore, and I don't know exactly why," he said. "I've had it in the past. I have to stay on top of it because I'm a prime candidate to cramp up."

Singleton has scaled back his pre-game routine. He takes batting practice but isn't using up as much energy shagging fly balls and running sprints.

Power shortage

The Orioles have stockpiled pitching prospects in recent drafts, but what they sorely lack are power-hitting prospects. Entering Friday, they didn't have a single player in the minor leagues with more than 10 home runs.

Doug Gredvig had eight home runs at Double-A Bowie. Keith Reed had seven for Bowie, and Trey Salinas had seven for Single-A Delmarva.

"Sometimes power is late to develop, but you have to be able to see it, somewhere down the road," said Syd Thrift, the Orioles vice president for baseball operations.

"You've got to have corner outfielders who can hit 25 to 30 home runs and drive in 100. I'm talking about for championship teams." We're still looking for that."

This will be a focus for the Orioles in this year's draft, which begins Tuesday, but it won't be easy. By all accounts, this year's talent pool is laden with high school pitchers but light on power-hitting prospects.

Stahl makes '02 debut

Left-hander Richard Stahl, the 18th overall pick in the 1999 amateur draft, made his season debut last night for Single-A Delmarva and got the victory against Kannapolis. He allowed three runs (one earned) and five hits in 5 2/3 innings, striking out five and walking one.

Stahl hadn't pitched since June 3, a month before having surgery to remove a bone spur and tighten the shoulder area.

Listed as the organization's top prospect by Baseball America, Stahl made 12 starts between Delmarva and Single-A Frederick before being shut down. He posted a 2.32 ERA and struck out 55 in 66 innings.

The 2000 season also was wasted because of health issues.

Guillen takes a seat

Mariners shortstop Carlos Guillen was kept out of the lineup after being hit on the left hand by a pitch in Friday's game. He's not expected to play today.