Jake Arrieta talks about winning his ML debut

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." He handled that well, too. "It's real satisfying to throw well in my debut and get a win against these guys, it feels good. I just wanted to make pitches and not let the adrenaline get the best of me. I think through the first three (innings) at times it did. But I kind of got into a groove from the fourth on and got out of a jam in the sixth. There were a lot of positives out of tonight." Popping fastballs that hit 96 and 97 and showing a nasty slider as the game went on, Arrieta gave up four hits and three runs over six innings in helping the O's end a ten-game losing streak vs. New York. "I was really excited. I knew I would be tested right out of the gate by one of the best teams in all of baseball. To be able to throw well against these guys boosts your confidence and it's a great one to build on." As advertised, Arrieta showed up with confidence along with his blazing fastball in a test vs. the team with the second-best record in the Majors. He gave up just one hit to his last 16 batters faced. "Yeah, I think so (I was confident). My game plan was to go out there and attack them early and make them put the ball in play. I know they like to see a lot of pitches and they work a lot of counts. I feel like that's what I had to do to be successful. "The adrenaline was really flowing through my entire body for the first two or three innings. I told myself before I took the mound that I'm not going to throw with much effort at all tonight, because I knew I wouldn't need to. Later in the game, my misses weren't by very much." Arrieta looked composed from the start, getting the Yankees 1-2-3 on 16 pitches in the first which included Derek Jeter's groundout to second on a 2-1 pitch to start the contest. "I was talking to my wife and a couple of friends and telling them it's going to be pretty exciting to face Jeter as the first hitter in my debut. That's pretty special to me and that's something I'll remember for a long time and be able to tell my kids. "It's special, but once I got out there, I didn't really think about it that way. I was just going out there trying to get him out." In the sixth, with the game tied 3-3 after Scott Moore's solo homer in the fifth, Arrieta had to get out of a bases-loaded jam. He struck out Marcus Thames as New York stranded three. "I know there will be times like that in my career, where I'll have to make those kind of pitches. And to be able to do it tonight in my debut, was very important for me. That's a rewarding feeling and something good to build off." Arrieta was 6-2, 1.85 at Triple-A and had to show patience, waiting for his first big league chance. "At times it was harder than others. Just kind of the unknown, not knowing when it would happen. I knew there was only one thing I could control and that was every fifth day, giving my team a chance to win. I was confident that if I kept doing that, the time would come sooner or later," Arrieta said. Now he and maybe a lot of O's fans can look to a future rotation that could include young guns like himself, Chris Tillman and Brian Matusz. Arrieta can see that future, too. "Absolutely, it's hard not to. When you see those guys pitch, the talent they have and the ability. Hopefully I'm a part of that in the future. I'm confident that I can be. We have the ability to pitch for a long time together." Arrieta walked four and fanned six, throwing 106 pitches. He became the 19th starting pitcher in O's history to win his Major League debut and first since Brian Matusz last August 4th. By the way, Beamon beat the Yankees in his debut on 9-26-56 and Uehara did it last April 8th. Arrieta made it a trio tonight.