David Hernandez got the ball again tonight in a save situation, with interim manager Juan Samuel choosing to ease Alfredo Simon back into the role. Good choice. Hernandez picked up his second save with a scoreless ninth, brushing aside a two-out walk in the process and preserving a 4-1 win. It was pretty easy, and we're not used to such things from an Orioles closer. A drama-free ninth? Outrageous. Gary and Jim talks with Juan Samuel about the O's 4-1 win over the Giants "We do not want...

So can Jake Arrieta pitch more often than once every five days? Probably not. But the 24-year-old rookie right-hander is now 2-0, 2.77 after two Major League starts. Pitching vs. a Giants team that had won four in a row and had scored 10 runs the night before, Arrieta gave up just three hits and one run over seven innings and one batter on Tuesday night. He walked two, fanned three and threw 95 pitches. Here is a pretty remarkable stat. O's starting pitchers have just two wins over...

Interim manager Juan Samuel removed Jake Arrieta in the bottom of the eighth inning after Bengie Molina's leadoff single. That's only three hits for the Giants, who still trail, 4-1. Left-hander Will Ohman enters the game with Arrieta's pitch count at 95. Assuming the inherited runner doesn't score - and why would it? - Arrieta has allowed four runs and seven hits in 13 innings over two major league starts. He picked up the win against the Yankees. He deserves this one against the...

You must be feeling pretty good about Jake Arrieta right now. I know you've been scarred from the missteps of other young pitchers on this staff - and I'll still insist that it's way too soon to give up on any of them - but it's OK to get a little excited about Arrieta. The former fifth-round pick is rolling again tonight, holding the Giants to one run and two hits over six innings. Third baseman Pablo Sandoval homered in the third inning to account for all of San Francisco's...

Potomac Nationals left handed pitcher Evan Bronson is coming off one of his best starts of the year Thursday against Lynchburg. Bronson went 5.1 innings, scattering five hits, allowing no runs, no walks and striking out three batters. 23-year old Bronson is a 6-3 195-pound lefthander out of Trinity College was selected in the 29th round of the 2009 draft. Last season, Bronson was 3-0 with an 0.55 ERA for Vermont and was named a mid-season All-Star. I caught up with the Midlothian, VA...

Here are some updates on a couple of players. Cla Meredith is struggling since he went down to Triple-A. In four games, he is 1-0 with an ERA of 17.18. Today he gave up two runs in one inning vs. Columbus. In 3 2/3 since joining Norfolk, he has allowed nine hits and seven runs with five walks and strikeouts and a .450 batting average against. Jim Hoey, who pitched for the Orioles in 2006 and 2007, has put together quietly a solid season at Double-A Bowie. Hoey is 0-0, 2.57 after pitching...

Orioles interim manager Juan Samuel told reporters in San Francisco that pitcher Chris Tillman, who allowed six runs in two innings last night, will go to the bullpen while the club needs only four starters. MASN's Amber Theoharis tells me that pitching coach Rick Kranitz believes that Tillman is still a starter, but the young right-hander can work out some issues in the bullpen and "just let it out." Tillman could return to the rotation on June 26, when the Orioles need a fifth starter...

So Jake Arrieta has been with the Orioles five days now and he has seen the team win one game and he started that game. No pressure Jake. Actually I hope the confidence he exudes is there again tonight and that he does not feel any extra pressure to perform vs. the Giants. Hope he is not aware of this stat: Over the last 18 games the Orioles have one win by a starter and that was his win Thursday vs. the Yankees. It's his second Major League start and, on this team, he's already become...

For the Orioles: Corey Patterson LF Miguel Tejada 3B Nick Markakis RF Ty Wigginton 2B Luke Scott 1B Adam Jones CF Matt Wieters C Cesar Izturis SS Jake Arrieta RHP For the Giants: Andres Torres CF Freddy Sanchez 2B Aubrey Huff RF Juan Uribe SS Pat Burrell LF Buster Posey 1B Pablo Sandoval 3B Bengie Molina C Joe Martinez RHP

When I interviewed Cameron Coffey in March, he was upbeat and very optimistic about the 2010 season. But now, outside of taking part at extended spring training, Coffey has not pitched for any O's minor league affiliate and the possibility exists that he won't this year. Coffey underwent Tommy John surgery in March of last year and his velocity has not returned to an expected level. On Thursday, he'll undergo an MRA, which is similar to an MRI, to see if anything else is wrong with the...