Jason Hammel

Orioles right-hander Jason Hammel threw five shutout innings in a minor league rehab assignment start at advanced Class-A Frederick on Saturday night. Hammel, who had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee in mid-July, held the Carolina Mudcats to three hits, all singles, while striking out seven and walking one. He threw 66 pitches (47 strikes), just under his 70-pitch limit. This was Hammel's first post-surgery outing in a live game -- he had thrown two previous simulated games.

Right-hander Jason Hammel, shelved the past two weeks after tweaking his right knee, came out of his first bullpen session off a mound with no pain and remains a possibility to return this season. Hammel threw 35 pitches Tuesday, the first time he threw off a mound since limping off the mound and leaving in the fourth inning of the Orioles' Sept. 11 game against the Tampa Bay Rays. On Wednesday, Hammel said the knee felt good. “I see it as a success,” he said. Orioles manager Buck Showalter said Hammel could be a possibility for the postseason roster - even if he's unable to make a start before then.

Orioles right-hander Jason Hammel wasn't pleased with his outing Sunday against the Phillies at Bright House Field, but continues to feel healthy after last year's right knee injuries. Hammel, the favorite to be the team's Opening Day starter, allowed four runs on six hits over 4 2/3 innings, striking out three and walking one, in the Orioles' 5-3 loss to the Phillies. Two of those runs came in the fifth on Freddy Galvis' two-run homer on a 1-0 change-up. “Out of all my outings, this one's been the worst,” said Hammel, who threw 77 pitches (47 strikes)

The Orioles won't know the extent of starting pitcher Jason Hammel's injury until Saturday afternoon, when he gets a MRI on his right knee. But there is cause for concern, considering Hammel was forced out of Friday's 7-2 loss to the Detroit Tigers in the fourth inning because he felt pain - in the same area of the knee that has bothered him much of the season. “I was driving toward the plate and it didn't feel good. Something felt really bad. It's the same area as the injury was before,” Hammel said through a club spokesman while receiving medical treatment.

From catcher Matt Wieters' perspective, Orioles right-hander Jason Hammel was bringing his best stuff in his first start after the All-Star break Friday night. “Probably the best he's thrown since early in the year,” Wieters said about Hammel's first three innings against the Detroit Tigers. It was exactly what the Orioles needed coming out of the break, as their incredible start was starting to fade thanks to by a patchwork rotation and their inability to score runs. Then came a misstep that could be much more costly than the Orioles' 7-2 loss.

With this year's spring training longer because of the World Baseball Classic, the Orioles are pacing some of their pitchers a little slower. Jason Hammel, Wei-Yin Chen, Miguel Gonzalez, Darren O'Day and Jim Johnson did not pitch through the first rotation of Grapefruit League games. Instead, they were scheduled to throw in a simulated game Tuesday morning at the Ed Smith Stadium complex while the team traveled to Bradenton for a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates. High winds force their sessions inside, and instead of facing live hitters, they pitched against batters just standing in the box. “It was weird throwing inside the cage,” Gonzalez said.

On a night when the Orioles regained a share of first place in the American League East, another humongous win was overshadowed by another scary injury. Three nights after the Orioles lost right fielder Nick Markakis for the rest of the regular season, right-hander Jason Hammel limped off the mound in the fourth inning of Tuesday night's 9-2 win over the Tampa Bay Rays. Hammel, who was making his second start since missing nearly eight weeks after arthroscopic surgery on his right knee, left the game after feeling the same piercing pain in the same knee.

NEW YORK -- Orioles right-hander Jason Hammel, named the starter for a decisive ALDS Game 5 if needed, said his right knee felt good after a between-start bullpen session before Wednesday's Game 3. “It was a little stiff from the bus ride, but it everything was good,” Hammel said, referring to the Orioles' impromptu bus ride early Tuesday morning after their train broke down. “There's no pain, it's just discomfort. It's back to the part where there's some swelling or some fluid could be in there but it's hit or miss every day depending on workload.” In his first start since limping off the mound in the fourth inning Sept.

Jason Hammel, who had surgery on his right knee in July, threw 41 pitches in a mound session Tuesday and also went through pitcher's fielding practice for the first time since loose bodies were removed from the knee. He felt good afterward, and if no pain lingers this week, he will throw a two- or three-inning simulated game Friday at Camden Yards, Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. Hitters will stand in while Hammel throws from a mound.     “That's what our hope is, Friday.

Jason Hammel's breakout season in 2012 was rewarded Friday when he agreed to a one-year, $6.75 million deal with the Orioles to avoid arbitration. He could make up to $300,000 more in performance incentives. Closer Jim Johnson also agreed to a one-year deal Friday ($6.5 million) , leaving just reliever Darren O'Day as the only arbitration-eligible player remaining on the club. Hammel, 30, went 8-6 with a 3.43 ERA in 20 starts for the Orioles last season. Acquired last February from the Colorado Rockies in a deal for Jeremy Guthrie, Hammel emerged as the club's top starter in the first half of the season, but a knee injury required surgery and limited his second half to just three regular season games.