Orioles Pitcher

Orioles right-hander Chris Tillman's superb performance against the Mariners Wednesday afternoon earned him another start after the All-Star break. So why did the Orioles immediately option Tillman to Double-A Bowie following their 4-2 win over Seattle? The main reason is because the Orioles want Tillman to continue pitching throughout next week's break instead of taking 10 days off. So he will start for Bowie -- he last pitched for the Baysox in 2008 -- on Monday. He will then get in extra days of rest before being activated to pitch a week from Sunday -- the first day he's eligible to return -- against the Tigers.

Directly after Thursday's 7-2 loss to the Cleveland Indians, the Orioles' third consecutive defeat and third straight time they had allowed seven or more runs, the club held a brief, pitchers only meeting on a side “team prep” room off the clubhouse. Manager Buck Showalter and pitching coach Rick Adair were there, as well as the entire pitching staff. It didn't last more than five minutes. The players aren't commenting on what was said, but one source with knowledge of the meeting said it was called to make sure the entire staff was on the same page.

The news caught few by surprise, especially Orioles right-hander Tommy Hunter . Hunter, who this spring competed for the club's Opening Day starter spot, was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk as one of four pre-game roster moves Tuesday. The Orioles also optioned rookie outfielder Xavier Avery to Norfolk while activating outfielder Endy Chavez from the disabled list and purchasing the contract of right-hander Miguel Gonzalez from Norfolk. Hunter, who is 2-3 with a 5.59 ERA in ten starts this season, has fought to find his fastball command throughout the season, leaving too many balls up in the zone.

When Colorado Rockies left-hander Jamie Moyer became - at 49 - the oldest pitcher in history to win a major league game last Tuesday night, it probably didn't cross his mind that a few million middle-aged guys suddenly felt a little bit younger and lot more alive. It wasn't about that. It wasn't some quest to prove that life begins at almost 50, or to prove anybody wrong. It wasn't to write his name in the record book or write out Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher Jack Quinn, who was a couple months younger when he set the record 80 years ago that Moyer just broke.

After his final outing of the spring Tuesday, Orioles left-hander Tsuyoshi Wada said he felt physically ready to join the big league club for Opening Day in Baltimore on Friday. But the Orioles brass believes Wada, who signed a two-year, $8.14 million contract in December, will benefit from remaining in Sarasota to build his arm strength and pitch count. Manager Buck Showalter said Tuesday that Wada will begin the season on the disabled list. He will make a minimum of two starts - his first in an extended spring training game scheduled for Monday - in hopes of reaching a pitch count of 90. His second start could be a minor league rehabilitation assignment.

Two likely members of the Orioles' starting rotation - left-hander Wei-Yin Chen and right-hander Tommy Hunter - made their final spring starts Sunday afternoon to varying degrees of success. Chen, pitching against the Tampa Bay Rays in the Orioles' Grapefruit League finale, allowed seven runs - just three earned - on six hits over five innings in an 8-5 loss at Ed Smith Stadium. He allowed three home runs on an afternoon when the wind was blowing out of the stadium.

There's little debate to the notion that Orioles left-hander Brian Matusz has pitched well this spring training -- especially considering he's coming off an awful 2011 season -- but whether he's dazzled the team brass enough to earn a starting rotation spot remains to be seen. Orioles manager Buck Showalter has made it clear that this year, rotation spots will be earned, not given away. He has said all spring that Matusz will be evaluated on his entire body of work, with his dazzling moments as equal as his stumbles.

SARASOTA, Fla. - Orioles pitcher Zach Britton will not need surgery on his ailing left shoulder, but a process to help lessen the inflammation could sideline the 24-year-old left-hander up to six weeks. It means he will miss Opening Day and potentially all of April. "I'm not going to rush back and have the same issue crop back up," said Britton, who has been dealing with the inflammation off and on since August. "It's just a process that I've got to take. I'm frustrated with it, but if it's going to help me pitch and have a long career, that's the most important thing.

Right-hander Kevin Gregg took his place in the parade of major league pitchers who worked in Sunday's "B" game, but didn't take it personally. The Orioles have to schedule extra spring games to get enough innings for all the pitchers in camp, and it wasn't like Gregg was being relegated to a lower class of competition. He pitched between possible No. 1 starter Tommy Hunter, who apparently has won his bout with lower back soreness, and left-hander Zach Britton, who was testing his injured shoulder for the first time in a game.

Three critical cogs of the Orioles' pitching staff spent Tuesday morning on the back fields of the Ed Smith Stadium complex. While the Orioles' travel squad was on its way to Fort Myers to play the Boston Red Sox for an afternoon game at JetBlue Park, right-hander Tommy Hunter , left-hander Zach Britton and right-hander Jim Johnson — all rehabilitating injuries this spring — participated in a simulated game in Sarasota. For the trio, this was their first time pitching in game scenarios.