Orioles down early

By Roch Kubatko

Orioles

April 11, 2012, 3:31pm

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The rain delay lasted 20 minutes. Jake Arrieta has warmed up and allowed a leadoff double to Derek Jeter and a two-run homer to Curtis Granderson. Six pitches into the game, the Orioles are losing, 2-0. The temperature here is 53 degrees, and it's not expected to go up. I checked. Arrieta is scheduled to pitch the series-opener in Chicago on Monday, going on normal rest, with Wei-Yin Chen being held back until Tuesday. That's what manager Buck Showalter meant by using the off-day on Thursday to tweak the rotation. Joel Pineiro, signed to a minor league contract today, took his physical in Sarasota and will eventually join Triple-A Norfolk's rotation. No decision yet on how the Orioles will make room for him on the Tides' roster. Putting Dontrelle Willis on the disabled list would be one solution, but that doesn't clear a spot in the rotation. Willis got charged with the loss today after walking one batter and falling behind, 3-0, to the next one. Weird stat: Mariano Rivera tied Randy Myers last night for most career saves at Camden Yards with 39. Rivera, as you know, never pitched for the Orioles. That's pretty weird. The leader? I never would have guessed Jorge Julio with 43.