Arrieta on Arrieta

SARASOTA, Fla. - Jake Arrieta met with reporters have going five innings and throwing 72 pitches. Here are the highlights: "I settled in a little more as the game went on. Was throwing across my body a little bit at the start of the game. Felt uncomfortable there for a little while, but I was able to get outs. Had that walk in the first. Other than that, I forced contact. Got behind a few guys, but even the 2-0, 2-1 counts, was able to make quality pitches away. Got some ground balls, got some popups, kept guys off base when I needed to. Got some big ground balls and threw strikes. "I feel really good. The main thing I want to do is throw my breaking ball for strikes. Didn't really throw many changeups today. The ones I threw were good ones, and that's really all I want to do from here on out, throw all my pitches. Physical strength is there. Everything is there. It's just a matter of continuing to refine those pitches and get a little bit better out of the stretch and get a little better tempo and really work on keeping that for the entirety of the game." On whether he was uncomfortable mechanically: "Just one of those days in spring where you go out and feel a little bit off physically. Wasn't tired or didn't feel bad. Felt a little uncomfortable at the start of the game. Our bullpen mounds here are really high and the game mound is drastically different. That's a little adjustment there, the first inning. Really just continue to stay on my line and throw across my body is what really helps me refine my rhythm and tempo. "You're going to have a bunch of days like that throughout the season. Just got to find ways to throw quality strikes and keep guys off balance with the offspeed even though on certain days like that you're not able to rack up the strikeouts. As long as you limit the walks and keep guys off base for free, you can still have success even if you feel a little bad." On the Orioles' offensive explosion: "We've got a realy good offense. Guys are swinging the bats good. (Adam) Jones is swinging the bat well, Nolan (Reimold) is swinging the bat well along with a bunch of other guys. When we break out for four in the third, five in the fourth, I think it was ... it's never really a surprise, but that long layoff after the fourth inning was really tough. Tough to stay loose. I tried to get up and stretch and move around. I contemplated going down to the bullpen to try and stay loose. Yeah, when the offense does something like that, it never really surprises me." Luis Ayala retired the side in order in the eighth. Matt Lindstrom will pitch the ninth.