SARASOTA, Fla. - Jair Jurrjens sat at his locker as reporters approached him this afternoon, which was no small feat.
Jurrjens is still sore after being nailed in the right ribcage last night by a line drive from the Yankees' Thomas Neal. X-rays were negative, but Jurrjens is positive that he's in pain.
"I feel really sore and a little bit stiff," he said. "I'm going to see how it feels after some treatment and see what game plan they have for me.
"It's the same as last night. It's...
SARASOTA, Fla. - Wei-Yin Chen made his final start today before taking the ball for the second game of the regular season at Tropicana Field. He faced the Tampa Bay Rays, but the Triple-A version.
Chen threw 82 pitches in five innings and allowed a run on Brandon Guyer's homer to center field. He issued one walk.
"This was a really good accomplishment," Chen said through his interpreter, Tim Lin. "I feel like I accomplished something today. The first two innings, I couldn't feel...
SARASOTA, Fla. - Pitcher Jair Jurrjens had X-rays taken on his right ribcage this morning and he's waiting for a team physician to review them and pass along the results.
Jurrjens said he's still bothered by soreness and stiffness on his right side. He had difficulty sitting down at his locker.
Update: Jurrjens' X-rays were negative. He will take today off and could pitch later in the week if the soreness subsides.
Also, outfielder Trayvon Robinson is still day-to-day with soreness in his...
SARASOTA, Fla. - Let's see whether the Orioles can make it through tonight's game without an injury.
Manager Buck Showalter may want to summon a bunch of poor unsuspecting souls from the minor league camp. Get the regulars out of there after the anthem.
The pitchers may actually be wearing numbers in the 80s and 90s. The Orioles haven't listed a starter to replace injured Steve Johnson, and Showalter indicated yesterday that he could dig deep into the supply at Twin Lakes Park....
SARASOTA, Fla. - Chris Dickerson has "a slight strain around his right Achilles" and is considered day-to-day, according to manager Buck Showalter.
Dickerson tried to plant his foot in the soft grass to avoid running into Conor Jackson in the eighth inning and had to leave the game.
Showalter said outfielder Trayvon Robinson is close to returning. Robinson felt more discomfort in his lower back today while taking batting practice.
The line drive that hit Jair Jurrjens in the right ribcage...
SARASOTA, Fla. - Jair Jurrjens was making his final spring training start tonight. He didn't expect it to span only seven batters.
"Yeah, that sucks," he said.
To say the least.
Jurrjens was nailed on the right ribcage by a line drive from New York Yankees designated hitter Thomas Neal in the top of the second inning. He will undergo precautionary X-rays on Thursday at 8 a.m.
"Phew, scary. Really scary," he said.
"I think I tried to come back a little bit and that's why it got me...
SARASOTA, Fla. - Orioles manager Buck Showalter often says that the final week of spring training can be the most worrisome because of the risk of injuries. The idea is to get out of camp in good health.
Two days ago, infielder Wilson Betemit suffered a Grade 2/3 tear of his right PCL. And tonight, starting pitcher Jair Jurrjens faced only seven batters before being hit by a line drive off the bat of New York Yannkees designated hitter Thomas Neal with no outs in the second inning.
The ball...
SARASOTA, Fla. - The third shoe dropped today in Orioles camp.
Besides pitcher Kevin Gausman and first baseman Travis Ishikawa, the Orioles also reassigned catcher Chris Robinson to minor league camp. Manager Buck Showalter met with him following batting practice.
The moves leave the Orioles with 34 players in spring training, including six non-roster invitees. They must get down to 25 by 3 p.m. Sunday.
Robinson went 4-for-11 in 10 games. He left the team to play for Canada in the World...
SARASOTA, Fla. - The decision came easily for manager Buck Showalter. He just needed confirmation that Jason Hammel was healthy.
If Hammel's knee cooperated, he would take the ball on opening day at Tropicana Field for the Orioles.
"Just a health thing," Showalter said today after confirming Hammel's assignment.
"We look at it as one of the five starters. He will be the first guy of the season. We don't look at it like socially or whatever. It's just our team. It's, 'You're gong...
SARASOTA, Fla. - So how's that for a flurry of activity today?
Just wait until the Orioles actually play a game tonight.
Jason Hammel finally had the freedom to talk about his opening day assignment on April 2. Manager Buck Showalter was impressed that the right-hander waited until reporters already had been notified before discussing it.
It's also the little things that get noticed around here.
"It's an honor," Hammel said. "I'm very excited. Basically, what it means is I get to be...
SARASOTA, Fla. - Jason Hammel was officially named the Orioles' opening day starter today by manager Buck Showalter. He will take the ball April 2 against the Tampa Bay Rays.
Wei-Yi Chen will pitch the second game against the Rays and Miguel Gonzalez will be the third starter in the series at Tropicana Field.
Chris Tillman will pitch the home opener April 5 if he is not placed on the disabled list. Otherwise, he will pitch the fifth day because the assignment would be backdated.
Showalter...
SARASOTA, Fla. - Jason Hammel has been told about his next start and where he fits in the Orioles rotation, but he asked reporters to get the information from manager Buck Showalter.
Hammel clearly has been chosen as the opening day starter on April 2 against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Official word is pending.
Wei-Yin Chen is lined up to pitch the second game, followed by Miguel Gonzalez. The starter for the home opener on April 5 against the Minnesota Twins could depend on Chris...
SARASOTA, Fla. - Nick Markakis is leading off and playing right field for tonight's game against the New York Yankees at Ed Smith Stadium.
Brian Roberts is at second base and Alexi Casilla is at shortstop. J.J. Hardy will serve as the designated hitter.
For the Orioles:
Nick Markakis RF
Brian Roberts 2B
Adam Jones CF
Matt Wieters C
Chris Davis 1B
J.J. Hardy DH
Nate McLouth LF
Manny Machado 3B
Alexi Casilla SS
Jair Jurrjens RHP
Troy Patton, Tommy Hunter, Daniel Schlereth, Adam Russell,...
SARASOTA, Fla. - Orioles right-hander Jason Hammel allowed three runs and three hits over five innings today in a game against Tampa Bay's high Single-A team on the Camden Yards field at the Ed Smith Stadium complex.
Hammel walked three batters and struck out six before heading to the clubhouse. He threw 76 pitches, 47 for strikes.
The assumption is that Hammel was making his final start before the Orioles announce him as their opening day starter. They begin the 2013 season against the...
SARASOTA, Fla. - Unless there's a late change in plans, the Orioles intend to summon Cuban outfielder Henry Urrutia from minor league camp and give him some at-bats in Friday afternoon's game against State College of Florida at Ed Smith Stadium.
Urrutia has one more paper to sign, according to a team official, before he's allowed to play in the game.
Hopefully, it's not in Haiti.
Urrutia, who finally received his work visa and flew into Miami in late February, has appeared in four minor...
SARASOTA, Fla. - And down the stretch we come, with no more road trips left before the Orioles break camp and only three Grapefruit League games remaining on the schedule.
The Orioles will play back-to-back night games against the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays. Two division rivals. Quick, hide the starters!
Jair Jurrens takes the ball tonight after moving up to replace Steve Johnson. The Orioles should be thrilled with the progress he's made physically and with his command since the...
FORT MYERS, Fla. - Orioles manager Buck Showalter plans on starting Nick Markakis in right field Wednesday night against the New York Yankees at Ed Smith Stadium.
"We'll see how he feels," Showalter said.
Markakis served as the designated hitter today and went 1-for-5, singling on the first pitch thrown to him since March 1.
"It was good. He didn't want to walk the last time. You could tell," Showalter said.
"I didn't run him 3-2 counts a couple times to get him through the day. His...
FORT MYERS, Fla. - The Minnesota Twins have scored twice off Orioles minor league pitcher Tyler Wilson to build a 9-4 lead in the ninth inning.
Kevin Gausman never imagined that he would stay in major league camp for more than a week or two, but he made today's start with less than a week remaining before the 25-man roster must be set.
"Right after (Dylan) Bundy left, I thought, 'All right, a couple more days.' But I'm definitely happy with it. Don't get me wrong, it's been a blast. I...
FORT MYERS, Fla. - Kevin Gausman left today's game after 3 2/3 innings with his pitch count at 69, including 50 for strikes.
Gausman allowed three runs and six hits, with no walks and three strikeouts. Pedro Florimon reached on an infield single with two outs, bringing manager Buck Showalter from the dugout.
First baseman Chris Davis bobbled the ball and threw late to Gausman covering the bag. The play was scored a hit.
A 27-pitch third inning reduced the chances of Gausman getting past...
FORT MYERS, Fla. - Kevin Gausman tossed two scoreless innings today against the Minnesota Twins before allowing two runs in the third. His fastball has topped out at 97 mph and reached 96 mph multiple times.
Wilkin Ramirez doubled leading off the third inning for the Twins' first hit. Gausman responded by striking out former Orioles farmhand Pedro Florimon on a 96 mph fastball, but Aaron Hicks pulled a ball down the first base line, past Chris Davis and into the right field corner for an RBI...