Pitcher

 There may have been rust or jitters or simply a lack of recent familiarity with the American League.  Joe Saunders, however, chalks up his rough Orioles debut on Wednesday to one bad inning - the first, in which he allowed four runs on four hits and a walk.  “You always want to set a good impression your first time,” said Saunders, who was acquired Sunday from Arizona for reliever Matt Lindstrom. “It sucks that that first inning was the first inning. But you've got to turn the page quick and look forward to the next start.” Overall, Saunders, a Northern Virginia native, allowed seven runs (six earned)

Dan Duquette met with the Baltimore media about the deal today that sent reliever Matt Lindstrom and a player to be named to the Arizona Diamondbacks for lefty starter Joe Saunders and cash. Here's Duquette: On the trade: “We've liked Joe Saunders for quite a while, we've had some discussions (with him as a free agent in the winter). He's a local kid (Springfield, Va.). He's pitched in the American League. He's pitched in the playoffs. He's pitched in a tough ballpark in Arizona.

Bowie lefty Jake Pettit has been named Eastern League Pitcher of the Week, becoming the first Baysox player to receive the honor since Zach Clark in June. Pettit, 25, went 1-0 on the week with a 1.17 ERA and five strikeouts over 7 2/3 innings pitched. He threw 7 1/3 no-hit innings against the Trenton Thunder on Saturday before giving up a homer. On the season, Pettit, a 42nd-rounder in 2010, is 9-3 with a 4.10 ERA in 22 games (19 starts) with the Baysox.

Aug. 6, 1990: Right-hander Jim Palmer, the Orioles' winningest pitcher ever, is inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., after being voted in on the first ballot. "Am I as good as a lot of pitchers here? Probably not," says Palmer, a three-time Cy Young Award winner who had 268 victories over 19 seasons with the Birds. "But I would have voted for myself. " Aug. 11, 1983: Lenn Sakata ends a lifetime of frustration against Chicago, punching a single for his first base hit in seven years against the host White Sox. "It does take a lot of practice to go 0-for-66 against anybody," says Sakata, the Orioles' reserve second baseman.

Orioles rookie left-hander Wei-Yin Chen  doesn't often show his emotions on the mound. And that makes it even more notable when he does, like when he abruptly yelled after being called for a balk in his last outing Tuesday. If you're into flashy, Chen can't do much for you. Even on a day in which his 12 strikeouts Sunday broke Chien-Ming Wang's major league record for most strikeouts in a single game by a Taiwanese pitcher, it was business as usual. Asked after the game if he considered himself a strikeout pitcher, he calmly said through interpreter Tim Lin, “I really [need to]

Wei-Yin Chen didn't come to the Orioles with the reputation of being a strikeout pitcher, but after Sunday afternoon's record-breaking performance, perhaps that may begin to change. The 27-year-old lefty from Taiwan has often deflected attention during his rookie season, repeatedly saying through his interpreter that he's more concerned with team wins than individual stats. In the top of the sixth inning of the Orioles' 6-1 win over the Oakland Athletics on Sunday, the announced crowd of 19,698 at Camden Yards was giving Chen a standing ovation after he fanned Josh Reddick for his 12th strikeout of the game.

A rocky marriage involving a former Orioles pitcher seems to be coming to a close ­ - for real, this time. Kris Benson, who pitched in Baltimore from 2006 to 2007, and his wife, Anna, have filed for divorce, according to an interview Fox News conducted with Anna recently . According to Anna, she caught Kris in an affair with one of her friends, who Kris was supposed to be advising financially. In 2006, during Kris' stint as an Oriole, Anna caught Kris cheating and decided to file for a divorce.

MINNEAPOLIS - Despite watching a pair of head-shaking starts from Chris Tillman and Zach Britton the past two nights, Orioles manager Buck Showalter said he's confident the 24-year-old pitchers can contribute at the major league level now. "It's not like they've never had success," Showalter said before Wednesday night's game. "Look around baseball, there are a lot of young pitchers who are up and down. … Try to keep in mind, we're looking at guys just starting to make an impact at 26, 27. Keep in mind that Tilly and Britton are still 24. And a lot of guys don't evolve into what they're capable of being until later.

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.