Triple A Norfolk

OAKLAND, Calif -- The Orioles haven't named a starter for Monday's game in Seattle, and one possibility is 36-year-old veteran Freddy Garcia, who is 3-0 with a 2.81 ERA in four starts at Triple-A Norfolk. When Garcia signed, he agreed to make five starts before a decision regarding his future had to be made. Tuesday, he lasted eight innings, gave up four hits and a run and struck out four. His fastball velocity was in the high 80s. “Freddy had a good outing last outing. As Ron Johnson our Triple-A manager put it so well, Freddy was Freddy,” Orioles manager Buck Showalter said.

Right-hander Josh Stinson will be making his Orioles debut and his second major league start this afternoon against the Blue Jays. The 25-year-old Stinson arrived in Baltimore yesterday andwas officially recalled from Triple-A Norfolk before today's game. The club also optioned right-handed reliever Alex Burnett, who was here for two games to provide bullpen depth, back to Norfolk. Burnett will be available to pitch for the Tides on Thursday. The Orioles will go for their first series sweep of the season.

Right-hander Josh Stinson yielded four homers to the Toronto Blue Jays in his Orioles debut Wednesday afternoon, the most allowed by an Orioles starter in nearly 11 months. Stinson, who was recalled from Triple-A Norfolk before Wednesday's game to fill the empty starting rotation spot, was making his second career major league start, and his first since Oct. 3. It was the first time an Orioles pitcher has allowed four homers in a game since Jason Hammel allowed four last May 30. Stinson has mostly been used as a reliever - he recorded a 0.96 ERA in six appearances, five in relief, last season with the Brewers and was 1-0 with a 1.50 ERA in 10 spring appearances with Milwaukee - but was 1-0 with a 0.77 ERA in two starts at Triple-A Norfolk this season.

The primary goal of any leadoff man is to get on base, and Orioles left fielder Nate McLouth is beginning to fill that role nicely. McLouth reached base in his first four plate appearances in the Orioles' 6-5, 11-inning loss to the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday afternoon. He finished 2-for-3 with a single, double and two walks while scoring three runs and adding an RBI. In his past 19 plate appearance, McLouth has reached base 12 times. "I do feel comfortable there," McLouth said of batting leadoff.

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.

Jake Arrieta spoke for a few minutes about being sent down to Triple-A Norfolk on Monday. He expects to start Friday for the Tides. Here is what he said: "I wasn't doing my job well enough. That's the bottom line. The team needs me. They need me to be better. That's the bottom line, really. I wasn't good enough right now. " What will you work on at Triple-A? "It's pretty obvious. I talked to Buck about a few things. We talked about things as far as high anxiety situations, and he pretty much asked me, 'Why do you have high anxiety in any situation with the stuff that you have?

As expected, most of today's pregame interview session with Orioles manager Buck Showalter revolved around right-hander Jake Arrieta, who was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk this afternoon. Arrieta will join the starting rotation in Norfolk -- there's no talk of moving him to a relief role because the Orioles still believe his arsenal of pitches is best utilized as a starter -- and Showalter said he mentioned some things to Arrieta privately that he'd like for him to work on. Showalter expressed that he still has faith that Arrieta can help the Orioles get to the playoffs, but “when will be up to him.” He added that he believes Arrieta's issues are entirely mental.

The Orioles recalled right-handed pitcher Alex Burnett from Triple-A Norfolk, and he is in the clubhouse for tonight's game against the Toronto Blue Jays. In a corresponding move struggling right-hander Jake Arrieta was optioned to Norfolk. Burnett hasn't been told about his role, but he could serve as the team's long reliever for the next two days before the Orioles need a starter for Wednesday's afternoon game. The 27-year-old Arrieta, who is vastly talented but has been inconsistent throughout his big league career, has a 6.63 ERA after four starts this season.

You've seen it before. Way too many times before. Orioles right-hander Jake Arrieta has an outing in which he looks great in spurts and terrible in spurts. It happened again Sunday in a 7-4 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers. He had three perfect innings. The other two were disasters. And he ended up coughing up the lead in the fifth. Arrieta shouldered the blame. And that's not a problem. Arrieta's not afraid to point the finger at himself. He's also not afraid to work hard, to try and turn things around.

Top pitching prospect Dylan Bundy, who has only thrown soft toss since being shelved since March due to tightness in his right forearm/elbow, will throw Monday from 75 to 90 feet in Sarasota, Fla., according to Orioles manager Buck Showalter. He has yet to pitch in a pro game this season, but is expected to get on a mound toward the end of next week. Bundy apparently suffered forearm spasms because of the way he was placing the ball in and out of his glove - and the Orioles have worked with him to change that routine.