Hammel

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Orioles right-hander Jason Hammel will make his first career Opening Day start this afternoon against the Tampa Bay Rays. In today's Baltimore Sun, Hammel talked about how the progress he made once he was demoted to the bullpen in the final weeks of the 2011 season in Colorado changed his career for the better . The 30-year-old Hammel was 8-6 with a 3.43 ERA in 20 starts last season, winning eight of his first 10 starts, but...

The size of the crowd at Camden Yards on Friday night even surprised Orioles manager Buck Showalter. Some of it could have been attributed to the beginning of the Memorial Day weekend. The postgame fireworks promotion probably brought a few out as well. The sudden excitement over the first-place Orioles also had to have some effect. Whatever brought the fans out to Camden Yards for the Orioles series opener against the Kansas City Royals, it filled the ballpark with a rare buzz for late-May.

Orioles manager Buck Showalter pondered the question and then deftly evaded it. Just how good do you think right-hander Jason Hammel has a chance to be? Instead of answering, he reflected back on the deal last February that brought Hammel to the Orioles along with reliever Matt Lindstrom for veteran starter Jeremy Guthrie - a deal that was heavily criticized at the time for being one-sided in favor of the Colorado Rockies. "If I'd known then what I know now," Showalter said, "who knows what we would have given up for him. " The only thing anybody really knew about Hammel when he got here was that he was a big, rangy guy who threw hard and seemed to have a lot of untapped potential.

Jason Hammel has made 115 major-league starts in his seven-season career - more than twice that of any other pitcher in the Orioles' 2012 rotation. So Hammel's start Sunday against the Minnesota Twins is like any other game - to a point. It will be the 29-year-old right-hander's debut in an Orioles' uniform. "Obviously, debuting for a team is always fun. I am sure there will be a little bit of nerves," said Hammel, who was part of the February trade that sent Jeremy Guthrie to the Colorado Rockies.

SARASOTA, Fla. - Orioles manager Buck Showalter spent much of Friday afternoon telling players who will and won't be making the club's 25-man roster - leaving him with only one decision remaining. Steve Pearce and Conor Jackson are still battling to be the final first base-outfield reserve on the club's 2013 roster. Otherwise, things are set for Tuesday's season opener, with right-hander Jake Arrieta winning the final rotation spot, lefties Brian Matusz and T.J. McFarland added to an eight-man bullpen and infielder-outfielder Ryan Flaherty capturing a utility role.

The Orioles again proved Friday night that there are few deficits out of their reach, injecting late-inning suspense into a game that appeared to be a blowout. After trailing by eight runs in the eighth inning, they brought the tying run to the plate, falling just short in a 12-10 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays. But the concern in Birdland these days isn't about the offense, but a starting rotation that is struggling at a critical time of the season. Right-hander Jason Hammel, the club's Opening Day starter, has often played the role of stopper when the Orioles have needed innings.

Orioles right-hander Freddy Garcia is expected to start Wednesday's afternoon game against San Diego. Orioles manager Buck Showalter said Sunday that he hadn't decided whether to start Garcia or right-hander Jason Hammel on Wednesday. Monday's off day gave him that luxury. But the pitchers will remain in order, with Garcia starting Wednesday and Hammel starting Friday against Tampa Bay following another off day on Thursday. Garcia, 36, will get the opportunity to start against the team that released him in spring training.

Members of the Orioles starting rotation have had their struggles getting deep into games, but right-hander Jason Hammel gave the team a gritty six-inning effort against the Dodgers in Game 1 of Saturday's doubleheader. Through 16 games, no Orioles starter has yet to last more than six innings. Still, the way Hammel battled through early pitch-count problems was key to the series-opening victory. It also served as an example to the rest of the rotation. Hammel struggled through a 32-pitch first inning that saw the Orioles go down early on Andre Ethier's three-run homer.

Both Buck Showalter and Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette have said that Jason Hammel's possible early-September return from knee surgery would make essentially the same impact of a late-season trade. And after Hammel threw a late-afternoon bullpen session Tuesday, Showalter said the Orioles' ace will be activated from the disabled list before Thursday's game and start in that nightagainst the Yankees at Camden Yards. There was some question whether the right-hander, who had arthroscopic right-knee surgery in mid-May, would be activated this week or need one more minor league rehab start.

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.