Jake Arrieta said he doesn't feel he should be called the Orioles' No. 1 pitcher, but he sure looked like one today. Allowing just two hits - both singles - over seven, at times, dominant innings, Arrieta pitched the Orioles to a 4-2 win over Minnesota in front of a sellout crowd of 46,773 at Camden Yards. Arrieta walked two and fanned four. He faced the minimum three batters in five of his seven innings. Jake Arrieta talks about his strong outing in the Orioles' opening day win "My...

I asked manager Buck Showalter how impressed he was with starter Jake Arrieta following today's 4-2 victory over the Twins. Showalter thought I said "frustrated." "I thought I'd stepped into a different game," he said. Nope. We watched the same one, which included Arrieta shutting out the Twins on two hits over seven innings. Buck Showalter meets with the media following the O's win over the Twins "He was really good," Showalter said. "He pitched maybe a little better than he did...

It took the Orioles a long time to name their opening day starter. It looks like Buck Showalter made the right decision. Jake Arrieta blanked Minnesota on just two hits over seven innings as the Orioles beat the Twins 4-2 to win this afternoon in front of sellout crowd of 46,773. Arrieta's strong outing came 20 years to the day Rick Sutcliffe blanked Cleveland 2-0 in the first regular season game at Camden Yards. Josh Willingham's two-run homer off Troy Patton in the ninth ended the...

CHICAGO - It wasn't like Brad Lidge hadn't been in this situation before: Standing on the mound in the ninth inning, trying to protect a one-run lead and secure a save. He'd been there plenty of times over the course of his now 11 seasons in the big leagues. It had just been a little while. Prior to yesterday, Lidge had only been in one save situation since September 2010, and that came back on Aug. 3 of last year. But with Drew Storen on the disabled list, Nationals manager Davey Johnson...

Yes, Nick Markakis will be ready for opening day. (Sorry, just catching up on some old blog comments.) Markakis has hit a two-run homer, walked and delivered a run-scoring triple to help the Orioles to a 4-0 lead in the seventh inning. Markakis just slid hard into Twins catcher Joe Mauer while trying unsuccessfully to score on Matt Wieters' fly ball to left. He jumped to his feet and headed to the dugout. The impact didn't bother him. Another hurdle cleared. Markakis hasn't produced...

When the Orioles got six earned runs off Minnesota right-hander Carl Pavano on March 22, it was in a spring training game that didn't count. When they got to him today, it did count. In the spring outing, the Orioles had eight hits in just four innings against Pavano. Last year, in two starts against the Orioles, he was 0-2 with an ERA of 8.49, giving up 11 earned runs over 11 2/3 innings in two starts. Nick Markakis entered today 6-for-19 off the righty but without a career homer off him....

Twenty years ago today, right-hander Rick Sutcliffe threw a five-hit shutout to pitch the Orioles past Cleveland to open Camden Yards. He threw another strike today to help lift off the 2012 season. He said that 1992 opening day was among the most special in his career. "There was nothing like that one," Sutcliffe said. "There was always going to be another opening day, but there was never going to be another first opening day at Camden Yards." Sutcliffe remembered being a free agent a...

If you picked Nick Markakis to hit the first Orioles home run of 2012, let me be the first to congratulate you. Markakis swatted a Carl Pavano curveball over the fence in left field, giving the Orioles a quick 2-0 lead. J.J. Hardy walked before Markakis stepped to the plate for his first regular-season at-bat since having abdominal surgery. I'd say he's ready. Jake Arrieta walked Jamey Carroll with one out in the top of the first before fielding Joe Mauer's comebacker and starting a...

The minor leagues' main focus is to prepare prospects for their eventual ascension to the majors, but teaching players how to win and playing on championship teams is also important. New Potomac Nationals manager Brian Rupp said learning how to win is high on their list as minor league skippers groom prospects for their next step. "Winning is right up there," Rupp said. "It is really important. When you get to the big leagues that is all they talk about. We start it down here. We are...

It was 20 years ago today that Rick Sutcliffe was the first pitcher to take the mound in a regular season game here at Camden Yards. He pitched the Orioles to a win with a five-hit shutout that today. If Jake Arrieta could come up with a performance even close to that this afternoon, the Orioles could start the 20th anniversary season at the Yard in fine fashion. Arrieta went 10-8 with a 5.05 ERA last season. Arrieta is: * 7-6 with an ERA of 4.78 in 20 career Camden Yards starts. * 1-1 with...