Arrieta

Orioles manager Buck Showalter said Wednesday's 43-minute rain delay was too long to allow starter Jake Arrieta to continue his outing when the game resumed in the sixth inning. Instead, he went to right-hander Tommy Hunter, who struck out the first two batters he faced, then gave up back-to-back solo homers to Daniel Nava and Jarrod Saltalamacchia. “It would have been around 50 minutes before he threw his first pitch,” Showalter said of Arrieta. “I think that was a little too much, especially with the weather and the time of the year.

SARASOTA, Fla. -- Despite pitching with a blister on his middle finger that prevented him from throwing breaking balls, Orioles right-hander Jake Arrieta felt good about his final tune-up before Friday's regular season home opener against the Minnesota Twins. Arrieta threw five innings against a collection of Orioles minor leaguers, throwing fastballs and changeups exclusively. Arrieta said the blister should be fine by Friday. “Just didn't throw the slider or the curveball today because those two pitches put pressure on the inside of my middle finger and it needs a couple days for that nail to grow out and let that skin to generate, but I'm all good to go,” Arrieta said.” Just fastball changeup [today]

Right-hander Jake Arrieta came into spring camp as one of a host of candidates for an open spot in the Orioles' starting rotation.  There was no question is his mind, though, on who would win the competition: Him. “No, absolutely not. Whether that's cockiness or overconfidence, whatever you want to call it. that's just the way that I personally had to approach the situation, with that mindset," he said. "Knowing that I had to go out and actually show it and not just know it in my mind.

SARASOTA, Fla. - This time last year, right-hander Jake Arrieta was as excited as he had ever been about his professional career. At 26, he was about to be make his first Opening Day start for the Orioles, the only organization he had ever known. He was in the midst of a spring in which he seemingly had separated himself from the rest of the organization's mid-20s pitchers - once dubbed the cavalry. But just as quickly as Arrieta's star seemed to shoot across the baseball sky, it plummeted.

We're back at the bar this weekend. I'm still in Florida, so we'll stick with the Tiki and palm tree motif. Besides, the palm leaves are effectively covering the Ed Reed mural behind the bar until we can get the painters out here. On Thursday, Jake Arrieta again looked like the pitcher everyone knows he can be -- striking out nine in six innings and not allowing a run against the Pittsburgh Pirates. I know, you've seen that movie before. Arrieta was the club's Opening Day starter last year and eventually lost his rotation spot due to an inconsistency that has plagued him throughout his big league career.

Orioles right-hander Jake Arrieta pitched six scoreless innings Thursday night against the Pittsburgh Pirates. He lasted longer than any Orioles pitcher this spring. He struck out a preseason-best nine batters. He threw 65 of his 88 pitches for strikes - that's a mind-numbing 74 percent of all pitches tossed for strikes. He said afterward that he believes he has done enough to earn the fifth spot in the rotation, but he knows that's up to manager Buck Showalter and his staff.

Orioles right-hander Jake Arrieta made a huge push toward solidifying his case for the team's fifth starter spot on Thursday night, tossing six shutout innings against the Pittsburgh Pirates -- his third straight scoreless Grapefruit League outing -- at Ed Smith Stadium. Arrieta hasn't allowed a run over 14 2/3 innings in his past three spring outings. He allowed an unearned run in an exhibition start against Spain's World Baseball Classic team in the outing before that stretch. In five Grapefruit League outings, Arrieta has allowed just three earned runs and 11 hits, recording a 1.56 ERA with 16 strikeouts and eight walks.

DUNEDIN, Fla. -- As the competition for the Orioles' fifth rotation spot begins to heat up, right-hander Jake Arrieta made his case Saturday afternoon, throwing 4 2/3 shutout innings in a 3-1 win over the Toronto Blue Jays at Florida Auto Exchange Stadium. Arrieta, last year's Opening Day starter, said his ability to mix his pitches Saturday was the best "since I can remember.” “Today was the best sequence day I've had from start to finish in a long time, not just the spring, but since I can remember,” Arrieta said.

DUNEDIN, Fla. - Buck Showalter took a seat in the visiting manager's office after the Orioles' 3-1 Grapefruit League win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday and flipped over his lineup card to reveal the notes he scribbled in red on the back. While Jake Arrieta threw 4 2/3 scoreless innings for his second straight scoreless spring outing, Showalter quickly pointed out that Arrieta had seven three-ball counts and threw just eight first-pitch strikes to the 19 batters he faced.

DUNEDIN, Fla. - The Orioles are back in Dunedin for the last of three spring trips to Florida Auto Exchange Stadium. Jake Arrieta will make his fourth spring outing, and his second Grapefruit League start. He threw four scoreless innings in his last outing against the Pittsburgh Pirates , allowing two hits while striking out five and walking none. Also scheduled to pitch for the Orioles today are Troy Patton, Daniel Schlereth, Daniel McCutchen and Adam Russell. -- Right-hander Chris Tillman (abdominal soreness)