(My Sportsbook) - The Baltimore locker room these days is starting to look more and more like the emergency room at Maryland General Hospital, as one by one Orioles are falling victim to the injury bug.

The two latest to be bitten are outfielder Marty Cordova and second baseman Jerry Hairston. David Segui, who always seems to be injured, has missed the Orioles' last six games with a right hamstring strain and was placed on the DL on Thursday.

Cordova was placed on the 15-day DL Wednesday after an MRI determined that he needs surgery to remove bone chips from his right elbow and will be shelved six-to-eight weeks. The former American League Rookie of the Year award winner experienced pain in the elbow following Tuesday's 3-1 loss to the Chicago White Sox.

"I think he's had the chips in there for quite a while," Jim Beattie, executive vice president of baseball operations, told the Baltimore Sun.

Cordova was batting .233 with just one homer and four RBI in nine games this season.

Hairston, who sat out Wednesday's contest, injured his left ankle in Tuesday's loss to the Chicago White Sox and will likely be out for three-to-five games. The injury happened on an attempted pickoff at first base in the first inning when his foot slid off the bag and his cleats caught in the dirt, causing the ankle to turn.

"It was a freak thing, Hairston said. "I feel so uncoordinated,"

The injury didn't stop him from stealing his league-leading seventh base of the season later in the frame.

"That wasn't too wise," he added. "Halfway down I was like, 'What am I doing?'"

The 36-year-old Segui, who started the season on the disabled list, has played just 118 games for the Orioles since signing a lucrative a four-year, $28 million contract prior to the start of the 2001 campaign. In the 10 games he played this year before the injury he was batting .441 with five RBI. His move is retroactive to April 18, making him eligible to return on May 3.

"I'm tired of being on the DL. I was sick of it last year," Segui told the Baltimore Sun. "I'm beyond sick of it now. I'm sick of staying in shape. I'm sick of working out four or five hours a day only to come in and get hurt. All these fat guys in the league. How come they never get hurt?"

The injuries could not come at a worse time for the Orioles, who will be looking to top the .500 mark tonight for the first time since winning their season opener. Baltimore, at 10-10, has moved into third place in the AL East, but still trail the red-hot New York Yankees by 7 1/2 games.

To help ease the burden of interim manager Sam Perlozzo's bare bench, the team recalled outfielder Larry Bigbie and infielder Jose Leon from Triple-A Ottawa of the International League.

"We just need to get some players on the bench," Beattie said. "We need to get some guys here who can play full-time."

WHO'S HOT

With his win on Wednesday right-handed starter Jason Johnson moved to 3-0 on the season and lowered his ERA to 2.55, the best start of his career. He has as many wins right now as he had at last year's All-Star break. The only other time he won three games in the same month was August of 1999.

WHO'S NOT

Free agent acquisition Deivi Cruz continues to struggle at the outset and is hitting a miserable .171 and has just one hit in his last 18 at-bats.

COMING UP

After wrapping up their six-game homestand on Thursday against Chicago, Baltimore will hit the road for six games, starting with a three-game set versus Tampa Bay.