Jake Arrieta

The expectation is that some time Saturday it'll become official that Opening Day starter Jake Arrieta has been sent to Triple-A Norfolk. The numbers show why. He is 2-8 with a 6.32 ERA. He leads the majors in losses. He's dropped his last six decisions in a span of seven starts. He is 1-5 with a 7.85 ERA in seven home starts. He allowed career highs in hits (11) and runs (9) in Friday's 9-6 loss, and he pitched just four innings. After the game, Arrieta admitted to reporters that he is lost, and is more frustrated than he has ever been.

TORONTO - Right-hander Jake Arrieta , who hasn't pitched in 16 days, was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk before Thursday's game to make space on the 25-man roster for starter Kevin Gausman . Orioles manager Buck Showalter said the team was deciding between "two or three" possible moves but decided it was most important to get Arrieta back on the mound. While disappointed, Arrieta agreed. "I need to get innings," Arrieta said Thursday. "I need to pitch in games, whether it's here or there.

To clear a roster spot for right-hander Miguel Gonzalez's return from the disabled list Tuesday, the Orioles optioned right-hander Jair Jurrjens to Triple-A Norfolk after just one start with the big league club. The move created a vacant spot in the starting rotation for Thursday's game in Toronto. Orioles manager Buck Showalter said Tuesday that the leading candidates to fill that spot are right-hander Jake Arrieta and left-hander T.J. McFarland, depending on how the two are used out of the bullpen in the meantime.

TORONTO -- The Orioles plan to recall right-hander Steve Johnson as an extra relief arm if the club's bullpen gets extended tonight against the Blue Jays. Johnson, a St. Paul's grad, was scratched from his scheduled start Friday at Triple-A Norfolk and could join the team in Toronto on Saturday. The Orioles bullpen accounted for four innings in Thursday's 12-6 loss to the Blue Jays, and manager Buck Showalter intentionally stayed away from relievers Jim Johnson, Darren O'Day and Tommy Hunter as a safeguard.

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.

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.

Right-hander Jake Arrieta, who was sent down after four excruciatingly erratic starts with the Orioles, pitched well in his first two starts for Triple-A Norfolk. Last night, his third start with the Tides did not go quite as well. The 27-year-old took the loss after allowing five runs, four of them earned, and seven hits over 6 2/3 innings. One of those runs came when Buffalo's Anthony Gose straight up stole home plate on him. Here's the video: Your browser does not support iframes.

The Orioles have not specified the schedule for Miguel Gonzalez yet. Gonzalez threw a side session this morning and indicated things went fine with the blister on his right thumb. Orioles manager Buck Showalter said it is still a possibility that he could fill the Orioles' need for Tuesday's open rotation spot, but said the club is more focused on making sure he is 100 percent healthy. Jake Arrieta had some tightness in his shoulder when he began a throwing session Tuesday at Triple-A Norfolk, but that subsided as he continued to throw fastballs.

For the fourth consecutive time this season, Orioles starter Jake Arrieta couldn't make it to the sixth inning. Arrieta allowed five runs, all of them earned, against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday. He was pulled from the game with the Orioles leading, 4-3, in the top of the fifth inning at Camden Yards. The Dodgers had runners on the corners and no outs when he left. Those two runners scored after T.J. McFarland entered the game, but they were credited to Arrieta, who is in line for the loss if the Orioles don't erase this one-run lead.

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)

TORONTO -- Kevin Gausman arrived in the visiting clubhouse of the Rogers Centre on Thursday to find about $300 worth of powdered mini doughnuts stacked inside and at the base of his locker, another nice welcoming gift from center fielder Adam Jones. The 22-year-old Gausman will make his major league debut tonight against the Blue Jays. Gausman -- who was known for eating doughnuts between innings at LSU -- apparently needed to go back to his apartment near Bowie to get his passport before joining the club.

Just last week, Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette said pitching prospect Kevin Gausman was a starting rotation option for the future, but not the immediate present. But the 22-year-old right-hander will join the Orioles this week and is expected to make his major league debut Thursday night against the Toronto Blue Jays, according to multiple industry sources. The Orioles' first-round draft pick last June - the fourth-overall selection out of LSU - will make the jump from Double-A Bowie, where he is 2-4 with a 3.11 ERA in eight starts.

In activating Miguel Gonzalez from the disabled list to start Tuesday, the Orioles again shuffled their rotation a bit. Right-hander Jair Jurrjens, who made his first start for the Orioles on Saturday and allowed four runs in five innings, was optioned back to Triple-A Norfolk. “We need length in our bullpen as most clubs do … and Jair is not available to do that tonight," manager Buck Showalter said. And as always we are going to lean on protecting our bullpen and pitching staff and keep the length down there.” Showalter said Jurrjens could be back in 10 days, but at least until then the Orioles have an opening in their starting rotation.

To clear a roster spot for right-hander Miguel Gonzalez's return from the disabled list Tuesday, the Orioles optioned right-hander Jair Jurrjens to Triple-A Norfolk after just one start with the big league club. The move created a vacant spot in the starting rotation for Thursday's game in Toronto. Orioles manager Buck Showalter said Tuesday that the leading candidates to fill that spot are right-hander Jake Arrieta and left-hander T.J. McFarland, depending on how the two are used out of the bullpen in the meantime.

Orioles manager Buck Showalter said he hopes that getting second baseman Ryan Flaherty consistent at-bats at Triple-A Norfolk - while getting the 26-year-old to work on offensive problems away from the major league spotlight - will help him rebound from a tough start to the season. Flaherty, who has held most of the starting second baseman duties since Brian Roberts was injured in the third game of the season, was hitting just .133/.228/.233 in 30 games before he was optioned to the Tides on Saturday night.

The Orioles made several moves before Saturday's game, with one high-profile player hitting the disabled list and another getting a recall to the major leagues. Outfielder Nolan Reimold, who has struggled to hit in the early season and hasn't played since May 11, was placed on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to last Sunday, with a strained right hamstring. Right-hander Jake Arrieta, the club's 2012 Opening Day starter who pitched in four games this year before being demoted to Triple-A Norfolk in April, was recalled and was in the bullpen Saturday night.

Jake Arrieta has wanted to be “the guy” for the Orioles. He loved getting the ball on Opening Day. He loves competing. And he was crestfallen when he was taken out of the rotation because of ineffectiveness earlier this month. But he got a reprieve when Brian Matusz was pushed back because he bunted a ball off his face. Arrieta took Matusz's start against Pittsburgh and dominated (seven innings, one hit, nine strikeouts). He also pitched well in his next outing, but got the loss when he gave up a grand slam to Ike Davis in the sixth after holding the New York Mets scoreless through five innings.

The Orioles have not specified the schedule for Miguel Gonzalez yet. Gonzalez threw a side session this morning and indicated things went fine with the blister on his right thumb. Orioles manager Buck Showalter said it is still a possibility that he could fill the Orioles' need for Tuesday's open rotation spot, but said the club is more focused on making sure he is 100 percent healthy. Jake Arrieta had some tightness in his shoulder when he began a throwing session Tuesday at Triple-A Norfolk, but that subsided as he continued to throw fastballs.

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.