David Hernandez got his first shot at closing tonight, and his first pitch was a 96 mph fastball. Jake Arrieta threw serious heat at the Yankees in the first inning, and Hernandez did the same in the ninth. Marcus Thames took a big cut and flied to the warning track in right. One pitch, one out, one scare. Hernandez walked No. 9 hitter Kevin Russo to put the tying run on base, but he got ahead of Derek Jeter with a 97 mph fastball and induced a harmless fly ball to right with a 96 mph...

If Jake Arrieta just had not walked number nine hitter Chad Moeller leading off the top of the third. That led to two Yankees runs, but this young man did a very solid job in his Major League debut. He might beat the Yankees and A.J. Burnett in his Major League debut since he leaves with a 4-3 lead after six innings. Arrieta tonight: 6IP, 4H, 3R-ER, 4B, 6K. He threw 106 pitches, 61 for strikes. He showed the confidence and poise we heard that he had. The Yankees hitters went just 4 for...

Your latest press box debate: Should Jake Arrieta have come out for the seventh inning? I agreed with another reporter that three runs over six innings, and 106 pitches, was more than sufficient for Arrieta's major league debut against the Yankees. Don't push him any further. A team employee sitting next to me wanted Arrieta to continue, at least until the rookie allowed a baserunner, and argued that two intentional walks in the sixth shouldn't be included in the pitch count. They're...

Scott Moore just hit his first home run, driving a 1-0 pitch over the right-center field fence to tie the game, 3-3, in the fifth inning. The ball traveled 394 feet. Moore hadn't homered in the majors since April 8, 2008 against Texas' Jason Jennings. Jake Arrieta has retired nine of the last 10 batters he's faced. He walked Derek Jeter with two outs in the fifth, but struck out Nick Swisher on a slider. His fastball is still hitting 96 mph on the stadium gun. Arrieta has allowed three...

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...