Jason Hammel

Orioles right-hander Jason Hammel was not particularly good on Thursday night. He struggled with his command, at one point throwing half of his 28 pitches for balls. He ended up with 104 pitches -- and only 59 for strikes. And yet he allowed just three hits, two runs (none earned) and two walks in six innings against the Oakland Athletics -- who led the majors in runs scored and on-base percentage heading into Thursday -- without being on the top of his game. Hammel may not be an ace, but he is the Orioles' No. 1 pitcher.

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.

The Orioles have announced that right-hander Jason Hammel, who left Friday's game in the fourth inning when he re-injured his balky right knee, will miss his next start, which was scheduled for Wednesday in Minnesota. Hammel had a MRI on Saturday afternoon, but the results were not immediately announced. However, the club said Hammel would miss one start. Orioles manager Buck Showalter is expected to address the situation and Hammel's treatment options after today's game against the Detroit Tigers.

Frankly, Jason Hammel has been playing with fire all season. The Orioles' Opening Day starter hasn't been crisp - honest-to-goodness smooth and effortless like in early 2012 - at all in nine starts. Sure, he beat the Tampa Bay Rays on Opening Day in a quality start (three runs in six innings) and then beat himself up afterward for not having good command. Then there were his six innings without an earned run against Oakland on April 25 in which he threw only 59 of his 104 pitches for strikes, but got away with a lot of mistakes.

Jason Hammel's night is over. And, given the fact he hadn't pitched in a big league game since July 13, it was about as good as could be expected. Hammel pitched into the sixth, being pulled with no outs in the inning after walking Alex Rodriguez. Through five-plus, the lanky right-hander allowed six hits, two walks and one earned run - on a Curtis Granderson two-out single in the fourth. He struck out six and retired the first six batters he faced. There was a scary moment in the fourth when Robinson Cano smashed a comebacker that hit Hammel in the right elbow.

The Orioles' starting rotation, a strength during the team's early-season success, will be pieced together with patchwork the next two days. Right-hander Jason Hammel, who has anchored the rotation with a 4-1 record and 2.09 ERA, will most likely be pushed back from his scheduled start Thursday with right-knee soreness that he said had regressed the past two to three starts. But Hammel said he's confident that being pushed him back will avoid a stint on the disabled list.

It's never a pleasant experience for major league ballplayers when one of their struggling teammates gets sent to the minors. In close clubhouses, most of these guys are friends, or friendly anyway. And, frankly, many of them have been through the same situations. It's possible no one in an Orioles uniform has a better understanding of what Jake Arrieta is going through right now than fellow right-hander Jason Hammel. Arrieta, 27, was sent to Triple-A Norfolk on Monday after posting a 6.63 ERA in four starts.

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.

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.

SARASOTA, Fla. -  Orioles pitchers Jason Hammel and Tommy Hunter threw in separate minor league games Friday at Twin Lakes Park to get their work in, but the free-swinging Tampa Bay Rays Class-A hitters they faced didn't help. With the Orioles facing mostly American League East opponents and the Minnesota Twins - their first opponent in the regular season, Orioles manager Buck Showalter has sent some of his starting pitchers to the team's minor league complex to pitch so they won't get overexposed.

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.

The Orioles bounced back from a 6-0 deficit to win, 9-6, in 10 innings Friday night against the Minnesota Twins. Among the highlights was Jim Johnson breaking Randy Myers' club record with his 35th consecutive regular-season save (dating back to last year). Here's some of the postgame chatter from the clubhouse: Johnson on his record-setting 35 th consecutive save: “I wasn't thinking about it obviously. I was just thinking about watching us chip away. I thought it was a great team win. Everybody kind of chipped in. … Good effort out of the bullpen, guys had great at-bats and we ended up pulling it out.” Johnson on whether breaking Myers consecutive saves' record means something special: “It's not really anything I'm focused on. It's great, but our ultimate goal is our team record at the end of the year and going further than that.

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.

SEATTLE -- The Orioles snapped their brief, two-game losing streak with a 7-2 win over the Mariners on Tuesday night . Here are some quotes from the clubhouse after the game: Jason Hammel on his start: “Pleased but not pleased. I'm still throwing way too many pitches in the innings. 100 pitches through five innings is way too many. The walks, the walks are bothersome to me. I made really good pitches before that early in the game. I was spotted to a nice lead again and that is always helpful.

OAKLAND, Calif. -- The Orioles opened their 11-game road trip with a 10-2 win over the Oakland A's on Thursday night . Here's what some of the key figures had to say about the victory: Chris Davis on the first few innings malaise: “The first couple innings I felt like we had a little jet lag working. So I think it was huge for us to get a bunch of hits and everybody kind of get that monkey off  their backs after traveling across country.” Davis on the HBP that wasn't: “It hit the top of my foot.

Orioles right-hander Jason Hammel was not particularly good on Thursday night. He struggled with his command, at one point throwing half of his 28 pitches for balls. He ended up with 104 pitches -- and only 59 for strikes. And yet he allowed just three hits, two runs (none earned) and two walks in six innings against the Oakland Athletics -- who led the majors in runs scored and on-base percentage heading into Thursday -- without being on the top of his game. Hammel may not be an ace, but he is the Orioles' No. 1 pitcher.

Orioles right-hander Jason Hammel, making his second start since returning from arthroscopic surgery on his right knee, left Tuesday's game against the Tampa Bay Rays in the fourth inning with an injury to that knee. After delivering a first-pitch curveball to Rays right fielder Matt Joyce with two outs in the fourth, Hammel limped off the mound after favoring his right leg. Manager Buck Showalter and head trainer Richie Bancells ran to the mound to check on Hammel, who didn't even throw a warm-up pitch to test the injury.

Right-hander Jason Hammel made his first appearance of the exhibition season in Friday's win over the Pirates , and he did nothing to diminish his confidence in his surgically repaired right knee. He was all smiles after throwing 39 pitches - 27 of them for strikes - and hitting 93 mph on the Ed Smith Stadium radar gun during a two-inning performance in which he allowed no runs and just one hit. “Nice to be out there with two good knees," Hammel said. “Very, very happy that the results were good.

It's one of those baseball statistics that's hard to believe. I checked it a couple times to make sure I hadn't missed anyone. And I really believe I haven't. According to baseball-reference.com, there are 44 active major league pitchers who have at least 80 career wins - a modest accomplishment, but impressive considering all who have played the game. Of that group of 44, none has played for the Orioles. Think about that for a moment. I'm not talking about none of the 44 plays for the Orioles right now. I am talking about ever.

It's never a pleasant experience for major league ballplayers when one of their struggling teammates gets sent to the minors. In close clubhouses, most of these guys are friends, or friendly anyway. And, frankly, many of them have been through the same situations. It's possible no one in an Orioles uniform has a better understanding of what Jake Arrieta is going through right now than fellow right-hander Jason Hammel. Arrieta, 27, was sent to Triple-A Norfolk on Monday after posting a 6.63 ERA in four starts.