Nats pitcher Sean Burnett was thrilled to get a shot at his former team and help the Nats sweep the Bucs 4-2. Burnett allowed a couple of hits, but struck out Jason Jamarillo and bridged the gap from the sixth to the ninth inning, allowing Tyler Clippard to come on in the ninth for his first save of his major league career. "Yeah, its always good to beat your buddies. I guess you have bragging rights until the next time that you face them. I still have a a lot of good friends over there. ...

OK, since I cautioned fans not to read too much on the plus or negative side of Jake Arrieta's first Major League start, I won't either. I won't gush about his solid performance vs. the Yankees or say I told you so about him making his first big league start vs. New York. But it was a good night to see an O's fifth-round pick get the win throwing heaters at the start and an O's 16th-round pick doing the same at the end. David Hernandez recorded his first Major League save, needing 13...

Charlie Beamon, Koji Uehara and Jake Arrieta. Those are the three Orioles starting pitchers that beat the Yankees in a start in their Major League debuts. After the game, Arrieta had to deal with inquiring reporters and answering questions with shaving cream still an issue. "I got a little build up in my ears, so I'll do my best to hear you guys." Jake Arrieta talks with the media about his first Major League win He handled that well, too. "It's real satisfying to throw well in my...

Interim manager Juan Samuel let Jake Arrieta pitch out of a sixth-inning jam, in part because he was responsible for putting the rookie in it by ordering two intentional walks. "It never crossed my mind, getting him out of there," Samuel said. "I'm like, he's going to work his way out of this, so it never crossed my mind taking him out. "I think you saw him pump his fist after getting that third out. He was pretty excited. I know it was a tough situation. We walked some hitters for him,...

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...