McFarland feeling better, and more notes

Left-hander T.J. McFarland threw two scoreless innings yesterday in relief of starter Jason Hammel, despite a nasty cold that he kept quiet from manager Buck Showalter, who didn't find out until the end of the game. McFarland said he's feeling much better today, though traces of the cold remain in his system. "I didn't want to tell anyone," he said. "It's just one of those things where you have a sore throat, kind of stuffy and I just battled through it. I really didn't tell anyone. "It's one of those things where you just turn it on and forget about everything else. Afterward, I was definitely drained. I think I slept for 15 hours last night. One of those quick, little colds. "You can tell I'm still nasally. You can hear it. But sweating...I think pitching yesterday actually helped. Got me through it." During the 2012 All-Star break, the Orioles sent Chris Tillman to Double-A Bowie so he could make a start. They could do something similar with other pitchers. "There's a possibility," Showalter said. "It depends on what the need of our bullpen is between now and then and where they slot out the second half. There's some days and mathematics involved there that you've got to keep in mind. How many days down and what have you." The Orioles haven't allowed an extra-base hit in the last 21 innings. They've faced 93 batters since the last one, a double by Ichiro Suzuki in the fifth inning Friday night in the Bronx. Adam Jones' game-winning homer off Mariano Rivera yesterday was his seventh career go-ahead home run in the ninth inning or later, and the first since Sept. 19, 2012 at Seattle. Five of those seven homers have come on the road. Jones is the third Oriole to tag Rivera with a blown save on a home run, joining Luke Scott (2010) and Luis Matos (2003). Nick Markakis is batting .455 (10-for-22) in July. In 2012, he hit .378 (31-for-82) in July, giving him a .394 average in the last two years. The Angels' Mike Trout (.378) has the next highest average in the American League over the last two Julys, according to STATS. The Orioles continue to lead the majors with a .991 fielding percentage.