Near the end of Brian Roberts' call-in segment on The Scott Garceau Show, he casually mentioned that he'll receive another "injection" in his lower back tomorrow in St. Petersburg, which I assume is an epidural, to calm the inflammation. That will be No. 3 by my count, though I might have lost track. Roberts concluded the interview by saying that he hoped to get in some games "toward the end of the year." Nothing about the first half of the season. Alex Rodriguez left tonight's...

Here are the minor league numbers for Jake Arrieta and other assorted stats from Norfolk this season. He is 6-2, 1.85 on the season. In 73 innings, he has allowed 48 hits, three homers, 34 walks and 64 strikeouts. His ratio of ground to air outs is 1.43 and his batting average against is .189. *ERA of 0.82 over his last three starts (2 ER in 22 IP). *Allowed just six walks over his last 24 innings. *Pitched seven innings or more in six of 11 starts and threw 100 pitches or more in four of...

Jake Arrieta doesn't seem to mind the deep end of the pool. Arrieta retired the Yankees in order in the first inning, getting two ground balls and a pop up. Mark Teixeira swung at a 97 mph fastball and pulled it to first baseman Ty Wigginton, who flipped to Arrieta for the final out. Nick Swisher popped up a 95 mph fastball before Teixeira stepped to the plate. Arrieta threw 16 pitches, including a few curveballs that must have barely missed. They looked pretty good from up here. Update:...

I listened to a recording of Brian Roberts' interview on Scott Garceau's show, and he confirmed that he visited a back specialist in St. Petersburg on Tuesday and "no major structural damage" was found in his lower back. The plan for now is to keep Roberts shut down and calm the inflammation. "It'll probably take me a few weeks of down time and rehab and physical therapy and really taking it slow, and he thinks once I go through that progression, I shouldn't have any problems,"...

If Jake Arrieta wants to get advice on what he may experience in his Major League debut tonight, all he has to do is walk a few feet in the O's clubhouse. He could ask Brad Bergesen, Jason Berken, David Hernandez or Brian Matusz. They all made and won their Major League debuts last season. Berken beat Toronto in his debut on May 26, pitching five innings and giving up two runs in a 7-2 victory. "Obviously he'll be a little excited, a little anxious, a little nervous. Once you get out...

Interim manager Juan Samuel confirmed that Brian Roberts underwent more tests on his back, but there are "no major developments" to report. We're still waiting. I'm told that Roberts called into The Scott Garceau Show today on MASN and talked about how he's dealing with some inflammation in his back that's causing the discomfort. Samuel said he doesn't anticipate any more roster moves "as we go forward" besides Alfredo Simon possibly being activated from the disabled list next...

You already have a quarter of the set if you got your Nolan Reimold mini bobblehead on May 26, and you'll make it one-half when you take home your Adam Jones mini bobblehead on June 24. So when you make it 3-for-4 on June 30 with the arrival of the Matt Wieters bobblehead, it'll already be a treat. But what if you could take home even more that night? Enter the Matt Wieters Bobblehead Night VIP Experience Sweepstakes for a chance to win four Field Box tickets to the June 30 game against...

For the Orioles: Corey Patterson LF Miguel Tejada 3B Nick Markakis RF Ty Wigginton 1B Luke Scott DH Adam Jones CF Matt Wieters C Scott Moore 2B Cesar Izturis SS Jake Arrieta RHP For the Yankees: Jeter SS Swisher RF Teixeira 1B Rodriguez 3B Cano 2B Posada DH Granderson CF Thames LF Moeller C Burnett RHP Reminder: The Brooks Robinson High School All-Star Game, sponsored by Geier Financial Group, will be played Sunday following the Orioles' 1:35 p.m. game against the Mets at Camden Yards. It...

As I was driving to Camden Yards, the Orioles announced that they designated left-hander Alberto Castillo for assignment to clear room on the 25- and 40-man rosters for Jake Arrieta, who will make his major league debut tonight against the Yankees. Castillo was 1-0 with a 10.13 ERA in 10 2/3 innings over 14 games. This move can't be viewed as a shocker. Castillo could be outrighted to Triple-A Norfolk if he clears waivers. I can't imagine that the Orioles will be able to work out a trade...

Tune in Thursday to learn all about former Pirates' closer Matt Capps during MASN's weekly Covering the Bases segment. Drafted by the Pirates in the 7th round of the First-Year Player Draft in 2002, Capps became a reliever in '05 and advanced quickly through the minor league system making his debut in September of that year. A closer since 2007, Capps has 87 career saves and 20 for Washington this season. Bob, Rob and Debbi will talk to Matt's teammates, coaches and family about his...