The Orioles tonight had three hits and two ejections. Probably not a good ratio. It wasn't tonight as C.J. Wilson, perhaps with some help from home plate ump Jeff Nelson, depending on your perspective, pitched Texas past the Orioles 2-0 in front of 18,751 at Camden Yards. Nick Markakis was ejected for the first time in his career. It came after he was called out on strikes for the third time on the night in the sixth. O's manager Buck Showalter was ejected by Nelson with Texas batting...

Plate umpire Jeff Nelson has ejected manager Buck Showalter in the top of the ninth inning with a 2-0 count on Elvis Andrus. Matt Albers' second pitch appeared to be a strike, bringing Showalter from the dugout. Nelson let him vent for a few seconds before tossing him. Second base umpire Jeff Kellogg rushed over and got between Showalter and Nelson. Showalter's face was blood-red as he continued to yell. And yes, he looked a lot like Earl Weaver on one of the MASN shots. Showalter is the...

Reliever Jim Johnson tossed a scoreless seventh inning tonight at Double-A Bowie, striking out the last batter he faced. Johnson retired the first batter on a fly ball to center and the second on a grounder to short. I'm told his fastball topped out at 94 mph according to the Prince George's Stadium radar gun. He got the called third strike on a curveball. Johnson has allowed four runs and 12 hits in 10 minor league innings on his injury rehab assignment, with one walk and eight strikeouts....

Jake Arrieta has completed six innings tonight and held the Rangers to one run. He just escaped a two-on, two-out jam by getting Taylor Teagarden to ground into a force. His pitch count is up to 95 and Matt Albers was warming, so it's going to be tough for him to produce the Orioles' fourth consecutive eight-inning start. Albers sat down, and Arrieta will return for the seventh. He'll need to be economical with his pitches. Update: Arrieta is done after 6 2/3 innings. Mark Hendrickson...

After allowing a career-high eight walks and also hitting three batters last night, today the Bowie Baysox put right-handed pitcher Chorye Spoone on the disabled list. There is no immediate word on what the injury may be or the extent of it for Spoone. Spoone did not a allow a hit, but did give up three runs last night at Trenton. He walked four and hit two batters in the first inning, then walked four straight with two outs in the third before being lifted. Spoone had not lost in 15...

Most realize that Jake Arrieta can, sometimes, walk too many hitters. Over 72 1/3 innings in his first 13 Major League starts this year, he has walked 40 hitters, that's a high number. But on nights when he has kept the walk number low, he's been pretty good. In five of Arrieta's 13 O's starts, he has walked two or fewer hitters. His ERA in those five starts is 2.70 and he has three of his four wins in those games. It's a small sample size, of course, but the message is pretty clear. ...

That didn't take long. Julio Lugo froze on a line drive from Josh Hamilton with two outs in the top of the first inning, then attempted to make a leaping catch. The ball glanced off his glove and rolled to the fence, and Hamilton was credited with a double. Looked like an error to me. Vladimir Guerrero swung at the next pitch and flied to deep right-center field. Inning over. The adventure might continue. Lugo has played 11 games in left field, but he's made only two starts. He shags fly...

In his last 14 appearances, reliever Koji Uehara has surrendered only one earned run over 17 innings. Manager Buck Showalter has noticed. However, he's not ready to campaign for Uehara's return in 2011. "I don't throw out what's going on here for a year and three-quarters," Showalter said. "I know what I've seen since I've been here. I can see why he was somebody that was coveted to bring in. Keeping him healthy I know has been a challenge, but it's pretty obvious when he's...

He is back and pitching well, but Mike Gonzalez has not had a save chance since April 9 and that didn't go well on Opening Day here in Baltimore vs. Toronto. But now that Gonzalez is pitching like the O's hoped he would, he is beginning to look ready for another save chance. He says he would surely welcome that, but won't push for it right now and that manager Buck Showalter has let him know he is not anointing anyone his closer at this point. "Buck pretty much told me straight up what...

The OriolesREACH 2011 Pet Calendars are officially out. It's the second year in a row that O's players have posed with either their own pets or a loaner canine from the Maryland SPCA for a 12-month calendar shot at Camden Yards. The Orioles, Orioles Wives and OriolesREACH teamed up again to produce the calendar, which benefits the Maryland SPCA. Just like last year, each month features a different Oriole and a different dog - No, last year's photo of Rich Hill and his cats wasn't...