Bullpen

Orioles pitcher Jim Johnson, who shined in his late-season role as the team's closer, said he has a feeling he will open spring training in the bullpen. “I'm pretty sure about that,” Johnson said at Saturday's Orioles FanFest. “We'll figure that out in the team in the spring. The organization has considered the idea of making Johnson a starter, even as recently as this offseason. But with the Orioles' offseason starting pitching additions -- Wei-Yin Chen, Tsuyoshi Wada and Dana Eveland -- the bullpen appears to be his best fit. “I think Dan [Duquette]

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.

It was a calculated risk. The Orioles have opened the season with what manager Buck Showalter willingly concedes is an "unconventional" bullpen, which could leave him and baseball operations chief Dan Duquette with some explaining to do if the starting pitchers aren't able to provide enough good innings to keep the relievers fresh. The Orioles do not have a true long reliever to pick up the slack if the starters again make a habit of stalling in the early and middle innings. That might change over the next few weeks - as circumstances dictate - but the team clearly is hoping that the rotation will go deep in enough games to make it a non-issue.

Right-hander Jake Arrieta was supposed to make his fourth start with the Triple-A Norfolk Tides on Sunday, but he was scratched with a right shoulder strain that he has been dealing with since not feeling right after his last outing May 7. “I think he has some shoulder tenderness,” Showalter said. “I don't know if he'll miss a whole turn or just give him a couple of extra days.” Showalter didn't want to downplay the injury, but said the decision to skip his start was precautionary until the club learns more about what is causing the stiffness and soreness.

Seeking seats in the bullpen Barring injuries or trades, most of the Orioles' Opening Day roster is already set with the exception of two or three vacancies in the bullpen. Mike Gonzalez, Jim Johnson, Koji Uehara and Mark Hendrickson are locks, but there are still two or three spots available and a handful of competitors. Pitcher IP ER H BB K's Jeff Zrebiec's skinny Matt Albers, rhp 4 1/3 0 2 0 1 Throwing his sinker for strikes as he did in 2008.

Keeping up with a theme that has been consistent all year for the Orioles, the bullpen had another great game in relief of an unspectacular outing from a starting pitcher. On Sunday, Tommy Hunter pitched a decent game, giving up three runs in five innings, but wasn't great. No matter. Orioles manager Buck Showalter turned the game over to his bullpen in the sixth inning with the score tied at 3, and they didn't allow a hit or a run the rest of the way. “Those guys have been doing it all year,” Hunter said.

Orioles right-hander Brad Bergesen , who lasted just 2 1/3 innings in his last start against the New York Yankees, has been sent to the bullpen and will have at least one start skipped. Whether the new assignment lasts beyond one turn has not been determined, but Orioles interim manager Juan Samuel said there are no immediate plans to call up another pitcher to take Bergesen's spot in the rotation. "We don't know how long he is going to be down there [in the bullpen]

In their unexpected run to the playoffs last season, the Orioles were historically good in one-run games, winning more than 76 percent of them. Their bullpen was among the best in the majors -- and among the best in franchise history -- as relievers went 32-11 with 55 saves and a 3.00 ERA as the Orioles won 93 games. The Orioles ranked fifth in ERA and also finished fifth in WHIP with 1.21 walks and hits per inning. They somehow did it without striking out a lot of batters, as they ranked 28th with 7.49 strikeouts per nine innings.

Orioles starting pitcher Tommy Hunter gave up five runs in 5 1/3 innings Saturday night, marking the third time in the last four games that an Orioles pitcher hasn't recorded a quality start. That quality start was also the only Orioles win in the last six games -- July 26th against Tampa Bay -- when Chris Tillman gave up two earned runs over six innings. In the other three games of that stretch, Orioles starting pitchers have given up a combined 18 runs in 13 2/3 innings, overworking the bullpen and putting a ton of pressure on the offense to make up deficits.

The Orioles winning their three-game series against the Phillies this weekend at Camden Yards comes down to one number. One. That's the number of runs the Orioles bullpen allowed in 14 innings of work this series. With two extra-inning games, the teams played 31 innings this series. Their starting pitchers went seven innings just once and the pen had to account for five innings in Friday's series opener, something that usually leads to trouble later on. But not with this bullpen.

I was asked before the Orioles left for their 11-game, three-city swing out west what would constitute a successful trip. I said 6-5. Luckily I wasn't asked to amend it after the Orioles won three of four in Oakland. They ended up 7-4. And that has to be considered a success even if they were just 4-3 in their last two cities, Seattle and Los Angeles. It's tough to travel out west and bounce in and out of several cities and come out above .500. The Orioles did that. What's most impressive is that they are winning without consistent, quality starting pitching.

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Backed by eight shutout innings from right-hander Chris Tillman in his first career start back home in Orange County, the Orioles beat the Angels 5-1 on Thursday night at Angel Stadium to take the first game of this four-game series . In the clubhouse after the game, most of the talk focused around Tillman, who recorded his best start of the season. Here's what some of the key figures had to say: Manager Buck Showalter On Tillman's performance: “He's capable of it. You could tell early on he had a crisp fastball.

SEATTLE - Before Tuesday night's game against the Seattle Mariners, the Orioles demoted their previous night's starter, Zach Britton, and called up another arm for their bullpen. Cycling in fresh relievers has become a necessity for a club that continues to rely on a superb relief corps to keep them going. In a 7-2 win over the Mariners on Tuesday night, the Orioles posted four runs in the first, had a 13-hit attack and were in control all game. And yet manager Buck Showalter again had to ask his bullpen to pitch four full innings - using four relievers  - to secure the victory, which snapped the club's modest two-game losing streak.

The Orioles bullpen had a - pardon the pun - bird's-eye view of center fielder Adam Jones' two-run homer on Wednesday night. When Jones smoked a line drive to left-center field that hit off the a metal railing over the fence and bounced back in, the Orioles relievers were just feet away from where the ball landed. “There are very few people who could have seen it besides us,” said rookie reliever T.J. McFarland, who had crouched down preparing to field the ball as it reached the fence.”We saw it right there, because the railing is slightly lower than the fence.

One of the key questions for the Orioles this season is whether their bullpen can repeat its success from 2012. Bullpens could actually be a deciding factor in a taut American League East. Hall of Fame pitcher and TBS MLB analyst Dennis Eckersley joined us for a quick Q&A the other day where we discussed bullpens and his expectations for the division. Eckersley - who also works as a studio analyst for NESN, the regional cable network that carries Red Sox games - also gave a brief scouting report of Boston's team as the Orioles begin a three-game series at Fenway Park this afternoon.

Through the opening week of the new season, the Orioles have delighted their fans with an offensive cornucopia and a handful of exciting victories over the Tampa Bay Rays and Minnesota Twins, which is just the kind of first impression they were hoping to make after last year's uplifting playoff run. It was also just what they needed to overshadow what has not exactly been a smooth start for the pitching staff that was primarily responsible for...

Last season, the bullpen was one of the Orioles' season-long strengths, and while the club's corps of relievers returns intact in 2013, executive vice president Dan Duquette said he's open to adding another bullpen arm this offseason. The Orioles' bullpen compiled a 3.00 ERA last season, the fifth-best mark in baseball and the third best in the American League. The bullpen returns five locks: closer Jim Johnson, Pedro Strop, Darren O'Day, Luis Ayala and Troy Patton. Right-hander Tommy Hunter blossomed when he moved to the bullpen, so he's a likely candidate to return.

Right-hander Jair Jurrjens, who signed a minor league deal Friday, threw his first bullpen session in an Orioles uniform Sunday, mixing 45 pitches between a 20-minute session off a full mound and 10 minutes in the team's indoor batting cages throwing with hitters in the batter's box. The Orioles' contract with Jurrjens went from a $1.5 million major league deal to a minor league deal when the team had concerns about the health of the pitcher's right...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - One of the major reasons the Orioles were able to outlast the Tampa Bay Rays - a team built on a foundation of strong pitching - for a postseason berth last season was because of the strength of their bullpen. The first two games of the season opening series between these two teams at Tropicana Field have had a playoff feel to them - with dramatic swings of momentum throughout every inning. On Wednesday night, that was evident as the Orioles silently walked off the field as the Rays celebrated an 8-7 walk-off victory on Matt Joyce's solo homer off reliever Tommy Hunter.