Zach Britton

The evolution of Orioles right-hander Chris Tillman continued Friday night with an outing that was reminiscent of an experienced veteran and not a guy who was in the minors a year ago wondering about his future in the organization. In the Orioles' 2-0 victory over the Boston Red Sox in front of a nearly packed house on a picture-perfect baseball evening at Camden Yards, Tillman did what good pitchers are supposed to do. He won without having particularly strong command, walking four to tie his season high set in the first game of the year.

To clear a roster spot for right-hander Miguel Gonzalez's return from the disabled list Tuesday, the Orioles optioned right-hander Jair Jurrjens to Triple-A Norfolk after just one start with the big league club. The move created a vacant spot in the starting rotation for Thursday's game in Toronto. Orioles manager Buck Showalter said Tuesday that the leading candidates to fill that spot are right-hander Jake Arrieta and left-hander T.J. McFarland, depending on how the two are used out of the bullpen in the meantime.

It's best to start this slice of Jake Arrieta lore with a minor discrepancy; it was either a couch or an overstuffed chair. The exact piece of furniture isn't essential, what Arrieta did with it and why, that's the point here. The fact that its identity is in dispute, however, is fitting. Because it's also impossible to perfectly define Arrieta, who Friday will become the youngest pitcher to start Opening Day for the Orioles since Mike Mussina in 1994. Is the 26-year-old right-hander arrogant or confident?

Avg: Vladimir Guerrero .290 HR: Mark Reynolds 37 RBI: Mark Reynolds 86 SB: Robert Andino 13 Wins: Zach Britton 11 Saves: Kevin Gregg 22 ERA: Jeremy Guthrie 4.33 Strikeouts: Jeremy Guthrie 130

Right-hander Jake Arrieta will join the Orioles today as an extra-bullpen arm for tonight's game against the Red Sox, according to an industry source. If Arrieta, who will replace right-hander Kevin Gausman on the team's 25-man roster, does see action tonight, he would be working on normal rest after he last pitched Sunday for Triple-A Norfolk. Right-hander Freddy Garcia, who went to the bullpen Wednesday night in extra innings, will also be available out of the bullpen tonight in a pinch.

When Orioles catcher Matt Wieters threw out Tampa Bay's speedy center fielder Desmond Jennings trying to steal second base in the ninth inning Thursday night, it wasn't just an important play in a game the Orioles eventually won in 10 innings. It served as further example that Wieters - and, really, the entire defense - has shut down the opposition's running game so far in 2013. How good has Wieters and company been? They have thrown out eight of 10 would-be base stealers this year - an 80 percent mark that is by far the best in the majors.

Not many national baseball analysts are picking the Orioles to return to the playoffs, let alone finish first in the big, bad A.L. East this season. But one prominent MLB reporter believes the Orioles will take the division. “I'm picking the Baltimore Orioles to win,” ESPN's Buster Olney said on his "Baseball Tonight" podcast . Olney, once an Orioles scribe here at The Baltimore Sun , pointed to the team's pitching depth as one of the main reasons why he likes their chances.

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.

Each morning, Monday through Friday, I'll hook you up with some reading material to skim through as you slug down coffee and slack off at the start of your workday -- that way I'll have an excuse to do the same at the start of mine. Running it back: Zach Britton pitched six strong innings Sunday as the Orioles beat the Rays to finish a three-game sweep. ... The Orioles are pumped for today's home opener . ... Jake Arrieta admits that getting the ball for the opener has had his mind racing in recent days . ... Luke Scott is likely to sit out a few days with a sore groin . ... Justin Duchscherer will have a procedure on his lower back . ... Joe Flacco said he's trying to organize practices later this month with some of the Ravens' offensive players.

Let's start with the obvious: the first two starts of Kevin Gausman's Orioles career didn't go quite as planned. The 22-year-old right-hander, who had allowed just six earned runs in his final five starts at Double-A Bowie before the Orioles called him up last week, doesn't appear to be overwhelmed by being on the biggest stage of his young career. Gausman has gone after big league hitters. The problem is they have gone right back at him, hitting his high heat hard like they were Andre Agassi slapping a 130-mph serve back over the net. After allowing three home runs in eight starts at Bowie, Gausman allowed three in Tuesday night's 9-3 loss to the Washington Nationals, who had been struggling so much offensively that superstitious manager Davey Johnson said he would be retiring his razor until his team started hitting again.