The 'pen has gotten mightier

The much-maligned Orioles bullpen has been pretty solid lately. Over the last six games, the 'pen has combined to allow just one run and 10 hits covering its last 18 1/3 innings for an ERA of 0.49. The Orioles got three scoreless innings out of the 'pen last night as Jim Johnson, Koji Uehara and Kevin Gregg combined to fan five batters without a walk. Here is an update on some of the bullpen pitchers: Jeremy Accardo: Has allowed just one run and five hits over six innings in his last five games. Gregg: Has pitched five straight scoreless outings with three saves. In that time he has allowed three hits with six walks to four strikeouts. He has lowered his ERA from 4.15 to 3.22. Johnson: He has put together a run of eight straight scoreless outings covering 9 2/3 innings. He has allowed just two earned runs over his past 17 2/3 innings. Johnson has not issued a walk in his last 15 games over 18 1/3 innings since May 1. Uehara: He has allowed just two earned runs over his past 13 innings, lowering his ERA from 3.86 to 2.55. Here are some other notes from last night's win: * Nick Markakis went 2-for-4 with two singles and that was his first multi-hit game since May 21, ending an 11-game stretch. Markakis had been 2-for-25 in his six previous games. * Derrek Lee returned from the disabled and went 2-for-4. He is now 8-for-27 (.296) during a seven-game hitting streak with three doubles and five RBIs. * Adam Jones had one hit last night and is 8-for-16 over his last four games. Over his past 30 games, Jones is batting .358 (43-for-120) with 17 RBIs and 13 multi-hit games. * J.J. Hardy is 7-for-14 during a four-game hitting streak with two homers and five RBIs, raising his average from .236 to .272. He has an RBI in three straight games.