Arrieta

You've seen it before. Way too many times before. Orioles right-hander Jake Arrieta has an outing in which he looks great in spurts and terrible in spurts. It happened again Sunday in a 7-4 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers. He had three perfect innings. The other two were disasters. And he ended up coughing up the lead in the fifth. Arrieta shouldered the blame. And that's not a problem. Arrieta's not afraid to point the finger at himself. He's also not afraid to work hard, to try and turn things around.

TORONTO -- Orioles Opening Day starter Jake Arrieta has returned to Baltimore and is expected to be recalled when the team returns home from its six-game road trip and opens a seven-game homestand Thursday against the Yankees. Arrieta has been working out with Double-A Bowie the past two days after starting Triple-A Norfolk's season finale. Arrieta was optioned to Norfolk on July 5 after going 3-9 with a 6.13 ERA in 18 starts for the Orioles. He has pitched well in Triple-A.

The Orioles couldn't have asked more from Jake Arrieta in his first Opening Day start. The 26-year-old right-hander allowed just two hits and two walks while striking out four batters in seven scoreless innings. Only two runners reached second base against Arrieta - and both were with two outs. He threw 97 pitches, 60 of them for strikes. He consistently hit in the mid-90s with his fastball and his slider was particularly sharp. Matt Lindstrom is in to pitch the eighth, making his Orioles' debut.

Orioles manager Buck Showalter often is tough on pitcher Jake Arrieta, pointing out things the 27-year-old right-hander didn't do well when he turns in a strong performance. Tuesday was another adequate but uninspiring start this season from Arrieta, who allowed one run on three hits and five walks in five innings. He threw 112 pitches, 63 strikes, and couldn't record an out in the sixth. Showalter wasn't too critical of Arrieta this time, though. In fact, he seemed annoyed by the line of questioning afterward - basically saying that Arrieta needs to have better control and go deeper in games, but he won Tuesday and that should be the main point of emphasis.

Orioles right-hander Miguel Gonzalez, who has not pitched since developing a deep blister on his right thumb May 3 in Anaheim, is getting closer to appearing in a big league game. Gonzalez threw 35 pitches in a bullpen session Wednesday, the last few without a bandage covering the thumb (he won't be able to use a covering in a game). He said he came out feeling “really good.” “The ball was coming out good,” Gonzalez said. “The breaking pitches were fine. I was pretty happy about my performance.” Gonzalez is next scheduled to pitch in a simulated game Friday afternoon at Camden Yards so that the team can best control the environment.

Jake Arrieta arrived as a legit, big league pitcher Saturday night at Angel Stadium. Because after he failed to shut down the Los Angeles Angels with a two-run lead in the fifth inning Saturday, after he imploded and gave up five runs on five singles, three walks and a throwing error during the inning in an eventual 6-3 loss, Orioles manager Buck Showalter didn't pussyfoot around his 26-year-old right-hander's performance. Showalter shows a tendency to protect some of his younger players and won't criticize them in the media, sometimes accentuating positives when there really aren't any. The fact that Showalter was critical of Arrieta on Saturday night shows that Arrieta has arrived.

There was Jake Arrieta on Sunday, on a big-league mound, tossing another useful start for the Orioles. Sure, before Matt Wieters' game-winning home run in the eighth, Arrieta was close to picking up his 10th loss, even though he only surrendered one run. But hey, Arrieta knows close calls: less than three weeks ago, he was nearly sent down to the minors before the organization decided he'd be better off working through his struggles in the bullpen....

Orioles pitching prospect Jake Arrieta gets dressed well down the long row of lockers from the projected major league starting rotation, though there was a time not so long ago when a lot of people thought he might be a part of it by now. He often comes up in conversation alongside Brian Matusz and Chris Tillman as the future nucleus of the Orioles' pitching staff. He was - and still is - prominent on anybody's list of the top pitching prospects trying to crack the major leagues.

Jake Arrieta made the most of his spot start tonight against the Pirates. The 26-year-old right-hander held Pittsburgh to one run on seven hits over seven innings, tying a career-high with nine strikeouts. Arrieta, who was demoted to the bullpen following his last start Friday, has lost eight of his last nine decisions heading into the day, but was given the start Wednesday after left-hander Brian Matusz bunted a ball off his nose Tuesday during pitchers batting practice. That puts Arrieta in line for his first win since May 2, when he threw eight shutout innings at Yankee Stadium.

I appreciate a good beard when I see one -- maybe it's because I can't grow one above my neck -- so I am bummed out to see that Orioles starter Jake Arrieta had shaved off his amazing Al Borland beard from FanFest. In case you missed it, the beard was breathtaking .  Yes, I know it's because the Orioles have a facial hair policy, which is ridiculous. How can Koji Uehara grow sideburns like these but Arrieta can't take a page out of Brian Wilson's book ? I guess it's to avoid a situation like this one (sorry, Nick Markakis)