Minnesota Twins

Orioles left-hander Zach Britton came into his first major league start of the season full of confidence, ready to show he could become a stabilizing piece of a starting rotation in disarray. It was a long-awaited start for both Britton and the Orioles after the 24-year-old spent the season strengthening his left shoulder in Sarasota, Fla., and working on his mechanics in Triple-A Norfolk. But after his 2012 Orioles debut on Tuesday night against the Minnesota Twins, Britton wondered out loud what happened to all that confidence on the mound in the Orioles' 6-4 loss to Minnesota at Target Field.

The outfield walls at Target Field, the home of the Minnesota Twins, are lined with plants that occasionally eat home run balls.  Last month, current Orioles designated hitter Jim Thome hit the 607th home run of his career while he was with the Philadelphia Phillies and seemingly lost the ball forever in the vegetation. This mattered a little bit more for Thome than it would for the regular ballplayer, because the 41-year old has been collecting every home run ball he has hit since hitting the 500th of his career in 2007.

Dave Boswell, a former Minnesota Twins pitcher who led the American League in winning percentage in 1966 and ended his career with the Orioles, died of a heart attack Monday at his Joppatowne home. He was 67. Born in Baltimore, he was a 1963 graduate of Calvert Hall College High School. A Baltimore Sun article in 1967 said that in his senior year there, "he was followed by a pack of major league scouts. " According to news accounts, he was whipped into condition by his father, Buck Boswell, a Baltimore steelworker, and an uncle who had played for the International League Orioles.

There will be no early proclamations, no wild “Curse of the Andino” celebrations on the field after two impressive wins to kick off the 2012 season. These Orioles have been through this before - plenty of times - a quick start only to have it followed by a humbling collapse and another disastrous season. So Saturday night's 8-2 beating of the Minnesota Twins that featured another superb starting pitching performance as well as three solo homers from the meat of the order and a four-hit night from backup catcher-turned-designated hitter Ronny Paulino - yes, Ronny Paulino - will be accepted for what is was: a second fine game in a marathon of a season.

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.

After throwing seven shutout innings Friday in the Orioles' 4-2, Opening Day win over the Minnesota Twins, right-hander Jake Arrieta wasn't proclaiming himself as the club's ace going forward. "I don't know if I would necessarily say I am the No. 1 guy at this point in time," said the 26-year-old right-hander. "We were all aware it could have been a number of guys selected as the Opening Day starter. " His goal, he said, was to show his teammates that he could be trusted with the lofty assignment.

Let's face it: you've heard nothing but doom and gloom about the Orioles for weeks. A lot of it came from serial kill-joys like me, who think the Orioles didn't do enough in the offseason to improve themselves, avoid a 15th straight losing season, another last-place finish in the AL East, etc. But today, with the season opener against the Minnesota Twins around the corner, we break out the smiley-face for this column. Yes, today we give you seven things to like — no, really — about the Orioles this season: • Camden Yards: Are you sick of all the 20th anniversary hoo-ha already?

Chris Tillman wasn't pleased with his control Friday afternoon, but the results were good enough to help the Orioles beat the Minnesota Twins, 3-1. Tillman, who is battling for a rotation spot, allowed one run and four hits in 3 1/3 innings, throwing 28 of his 51 pitches for strikes. He was chased in the fourth after giving up consecutive singles to Chris Parmalee and Ryan Doumit and recording a forceout. Parmalee then scored on a forceout against Orioles farmhand Robert Hinton to break a scoreless tie. “You never like to give up a run,” Tillman said.

Orioles right-hander Chris Tillman wants to throw more strikes, he wants to pitch more scoreless innings and he wants to keep himself in contention for a spot in the rotation. After Friday's 3-1 exhibition victory against the Minnesota Twins at Hammond Stadium in which Tillman allowed one run in 3 1/3 innings, the 23-year-old right-hander called his spring a "work in progress. " But Orioles manager Buck Showalter was a little more effusive about Tillman, who has allowed just three runs in 8 1/3 innings in three spring games.

Date Opponent Location Time March 5 Tampa Bay Rays Port Charlotte 1:05 March 5 Pittsburgh Pirates Sarasota 7:05 March 6 Boston Red Sox Fort Myers 1:35 March 7 Minnesota Twins Sarasota 1:05 March 8 Atlanta Braves Sarasota 1:05 March 9 Tampa Bay Rays Port Charlotte 1:05 ...